Perfect Day
by k1216
Summary: It's the day. The one you dream of when you're a little kid,when you see yourself dressed in white next to the perfect guy. But, is he really the one she wants to spend forever with? Will she choose the one next to her or the guy she left long ago? Zeki
1. Perfect Day

Perfect Day 20:01

New story, new setting. My first story in english, please bear with me and my numerous faults. Sorry, for the french speakers, but i'm kinda stuck with my other fanfic so i'm trying to push away my writer block by publishing this story in english. Probably a oneshot, but if you guys like it enough, i'll do other chapters and maybe a whole serie. If not, well too bad. My first language is french, so it may contain weird phrasing -_-;

This chapter is mainly Yume, but i still greatly favor Zeki. If I do a whole serie, then it's going to be Zeki. I'm a zeki fangirl, sorry, even though that chapter talks about marr-! Almost said it, if you want to know, you have to read first! ^^

Takes place 2 years after Yuuki left. Good reading!

Disclaimer: The characters from Vampire Knight don't belong to me.

/

/

/

**That was it.**

She should have felt ecstatic, like she was the luckiest woman on Earth and as if she had reached heaven. It was a one-time-in-a-life moment; the thing that every woman wished could be as special, as perfect as her moment. There were thousands of people in the church, the white columns covered in gold leaves and decorated with roses and orchids, the sweet odor floating in the air. And the kiss…

It was soft, loving and caring, full of promises and non-spoken words, of peace and accomplishment. Like silk petals skimming her glossy lips, pink and inviting. It was every girl's perfect dream, perfect life and perfect future traced like a single gold thread up to heaven…

**But it wasn't hers.**

Of course, there was no denying the warm and fuzzy feelings growing inside her as she said her vows. She didn't ignore the fluttering of her own heart as she kissed the groom, the rapidly increasing beating hurrying in excitement. She was basking in the glow of everyone's happiness as she reached the epitome of joy and glory. She had reached the brightest star, the untouchable sun that lived only for her. She had what everyone wanted for themselves.

She had Kaname's love.

She had power.

She had pure blood flowing through her veins.

She had respect and richness.

She had beauty and grace.

But, why didn't she feel complete? It was the best day of her life and it still felt like she missed something. Someone, actually.

_Stop that! Stop complaining like some egoistical and rich girl who has everything in life but can't even be happy for that. Just because you have this Mary Sue complex doesn't mean you can start complaining and whining._

Mary Sue complex. Yeah, she was caught between two formidable men and she couldn't decide which one she loved most. And now that she has chosen one, she still wanted the other one's love back.

_You're so stupid! Wake up, girl! You can't break someone's heart and ask to be apologized and still be friends or whatnot. He said it, didn't he, it's not something that can be resolved by talking. Actions are what are important._

Yuuki took Kaname's hand newly adorned with his alliance, all gold and elegant. Hers was the same but more feminine, with small diamonds incrusted in it and it was graved '' Love ever after'' inside of it. Step by step, they descended the stairs leading to the altar where they had just exchanged their vows.

_Yeah, and you just married his archenemy. Like this is going to make him stop hating you. He has all the reasons to despise you. You are the kind of vampire who cursed him to live a miserable life that would end in some tragic way. You left him behind to go with Kaname, breaking the promise you were so set on respecting, without as much as an afterthought._

Yuuki cursed the little voice in her head, nagging her in a time and place like this. She really didn't need that part of her conscience reproaching her of the life she chose to follow. Because she already knew all that and even though it pained her, she would live and be happy **_withou_t** him. She had Kaname. It was more than enough.

Lifting her head proudly, she walked hand in hand with her husband, took a look at his gracious features and so perfect eyes, burning with passion and love. He had won her heart and she had won his, and nothing would change.

She looked back at the sea of people applauding and throwing rose petals at the new weds. She barely knew 1 percent of them. There were of course the maids of honor, Yori, Ruka and Rima and Kaname's best men, Aido, Kain and Takuma, along with the Chairman who walked her to the altar earlier.

There were a couple of nobles with whom she became familiar with in the years following her awakening and even some ex-classmates who came because they kept their memories after the incident.

All of them, all of her past friends, new friends and lots and lots of strangers came to assist to the most special day of her life. Every eye was on her and Kaname. Some looked at her with happiness, some with envy, some with teary eyes while they brushed aside some snot (Eww, the Chairman might consider using an handkerchief) and even some with jealous, burning eyes. (Maybe that choosing Ruka as one of her maid of honor wasn't a good idea after all. But then, she didn't have enough female friends.)

_Stop looking for him. You know he didn't come. As if he'd assist his enemies' marriage. Even if he came, that would be probably for work or to try to kill you on the spot._

Stupid conscience. She didn't need to be reminded of the situation. She knew she was being pathetic, hoping to see her old friend and biggest enemy showing up to see her in her white gown, all dressed up and elegant, so unlike the human she was before she awakened to her vampire nature. She wished she could have been prettier back then, when she could show him her dresses (or lack of it) and be teased over her boyish attire.

She missed those times, even though what awaited her promised to be grandiose and beautiful. But in a way, those silly things, normal days and sarcastic retorts, were all precious.

Nearing closer to the doors leading to the outside, open to the warm air of July and the cloudless blue sky, she caught the weird, almost playful, look on Kaname's face before she was swept off the floor.

Stopping herself from letting a small cry of surprise past her lips -that would have been inelegant and she couldn't do that without having Ruka reproaching her of spoiling the day- she hooked her arms across his neck as he held her close to him in a bridal style.

She heard some cooing and ''ooooh's'' and ''aaaaah's'' echoing in the background behind here, inside the gothic church of marble as she leaved past the grand doors held open for the newly weds.

Letting some laughters of joy past her lips, she was fully convinced that it was to be the best day of her new long, long life of happiness with her husband.

''I love you, Yuuki… I'm the luckiest man on Earth'', said Kaname, burying his head in her soft hair before pushing aside with his nose the semi-transparent material of her veil and kissing tenderly the skin of her neck.

She closed her eyes, savoring the moment, before opening her eyes and replying with fervor: '' And I love you Kaname, the man of my every dream…''

She whispered to herself, as she looked again at the new life waiting for her: '' This day is perfect…''

That's when she noticed the shadows near the exterior wall of the church, dressed in black and leaning against the white stones, looking at them.

Her eyes went wide; with terror or anguish, she didn't know.

**_He was here!_**

Crossing his arm on his chest, looking at her with disdain and hate written all over his beautiful features, he shot her a glare that stopped her heart from beating, her brain from thinking and all of sudden, she didn't feel so well.

The silver haired man stood some feet away from the couple, dressed into a handsome black tux, with another unknown ash-haired hunter that had turned around while he was probably having a conversation.

Kaname had stopped walking, knowing since the beginning that the level D had been asked to watch over the ceremony and keep on duty while 2000-something vampires celebrated the wedding of the closest thing to King and Queen of the vampire world. He wanted to go on and ignore the hunter, but he knew very well that Yuuki wouldn't want him to do that. He hated the ex-human and he would have liked to avoid Yuuki of being hurt in her feelings again, like she was in the beginning of her life with him, but that was probably the best method to keep her from wishing to be friend with the D again. Zero would be the one to drive her away from himself. If she's hurt by his harshness and rude behavior, then that was probably for the best in Kaname's case.

So he deposed her feet on the stone, making sure she could stand by herself in her emotionally unstable state before letting go of her and turning around to face the hunter.

Still shocked, Yuuki whispered to him in a fragile, hopeful voice: '' Zero…so you did came to the…wedding?''

Boring his harsh amethyst eyes in her garnet eyes, he snapped at her: '' It's not like I asked to witness another sight of the sick, animal side of yours, vampire. Seeing you and your kind celebrating yet another bestial festivity of intermarrying isn't my idea of a good time. ''

''_So he came for duty only, ''_ she thought, '' _and he still hates me. Even more so than two years ago.''_

Hurt flashing through her doe eyes, she blushed a bit at the defenseless side she showed when she had whispered almost hopefully seconds before. She couldn't let herself be vulnerable to his emotions and words anymore, it was only bringing pain to her.

'' Please refrain from insulting our race and customs. You may be the new Hunter Association President, but it doesn't give you the right to insult us. Taking pride in attacking verbally a race is something very shameful, Kiryuu-san.'' said Yuuki, as she steeled herself into adopting the cold but polite tone of a pureblood to address to her ex-best friend.

She thought for a moment that she saw something akin to pain and shame in the shocked look he gave her.

That didn't last long, as his frown deepened and his hate resurfaced with even more force, darkening his every words: '' Don't screw with me, Kuran. Someone who hasn't enough pride and rightfulness to even keep their promises doesn't deserve any ounce of respect.''

That said, he turned around, showing obvious disrespect to her and her husband, and disappeared from her view in the trees bordering the white church. The other hunter followed him, a small smile on his lips and an interested glimpse in his eyes.

She unconsciously balled her delicate hands into fists, furious at herself for not being able to tell him what she really wanted to and at the way she had been treated.

_Like an enemy…_

She still couldn't erase the feelings inside her chest that constricted around her heart and pained her deeply when she saw how their friendship had turned.

Turning around, she took Kaname's hand and walked toward the limousine, eager to be back at the mansion with the man she truly loved and who loved her back, and forget about the other who brought her pain and guilt.

_She would make this day perfect, no matter what. Even if it meant to have her imperfect heart torn between two men to the very end of her days._

/

/

/

Author's note: Haha, I know Zero's acting like a jerk, but i kinda understand him. I mean, it is the wedding of his only love with his archenemy, I'd be a jerk too if I had to watch that.

The other hunter is Kaito, btw. Yuuki should be 18 and Zero 19. Kaname's 20.

READ THIS: This story is a oneshot, but if you guys really like it, i'll do a whole serie. But i'm a bit down actually since I have not much readers for my french fic (though i understand that the french public are not as much as the english speakers) So it's kinda to see if my writing is good or i should just quit writing and just concentrate on my drawings.

Review if you like! It doesn't take much time (unless you babble a lot like me). If you don't have an account but are on deviantart, leave me a comment on my account. (same as my ID on fanfiction)

I speak french too ^^


	2. Bittersweet Night

Night of sweet love and bittersweet memories 02:46

Hi guys, since I had review wanting other chapters and as a Zeki fan, I was quite sad with the oneshot ending with Yume, I did another chapter and will probably do some more. (until Zero and Yuuki end up together, I promise) There's major rambling and thinking ahead, maybe it will be bothersome. But that's the way I think, going from one thing to another without much logic. I hope it's not too much ooc. So, to make up for the lack of action, I did the chapter twice longer than my regular ones.

And the chapters are rated T because of bad languages and swearing ( I like swearing words xD )

Guys, I'm sorry if i'm making your head spin because of me abusing of commas and doing super big sentences, that's my writing style ^^;

Disclaimer: Matsuri Hino owns the VK characters.

/

/

/

The moon was gently glowing in the cloudless sky, giving off a subtle, romantic vibe to this particular night. The stars were shining like diamonds against ink black velvet, the perfect setting for a newly wed couple's first night.

Lying across the large canopy bed, intertwined with the body of her lover, she had slowly closed her eyes, head resting against his milky chest, and listened to the slow heartbeat.

Listening to their respiration, no longer laborious but a soothing, calming sound, Yuuki approached her hand from his face, caressing and teasing his oh-so perfect lips.

'' Yuuki, you're not helping much here…'' he let a low growl from his throat before continuing, '' but if you don't get some sleep now, you'll be dead tired by the middle of the day. And you know you can't go to sleep until tomorrow's end of the night (**because they are vampire, the end of the night means for them the time to go to sleep**). That's the small cost for doing your wedding during the day; you have to get back to our nightly habits. We'll have to wake up this morning, stay up the whole day and night and go back to sleep at the beginning of the day after tomorrow.''

Yuuki gave a contented smile and looked up to meet her husband's face.

'' I know, and I thank you to have agreed to my little request. My human friends could attend more easily the wedding and I have always liked the daytime. It made the wedding just perfect ! The weather was absolutely beautiful and I'm glad you allowed me to make it the way I dreamed when I was kid. You remember, don't you?''

Kaname met her eyes, gazing down at her small, petite form cuddled against him before whispering in her hair:'' Yeah, I remember you used to say that you would ''marry Onii-sama in the outside, with a white robe and plenty of pretty flowers! And then, kiss nii-sama on the cheek and hug him veeery tightly!''

She giggled a bit at the squeaky voice he used to mimic her, before punching lightly his side.

''Hey, I don't remember having such a tiny voice! And, for your information, I didn't act as childishly as I said I would. Back then, I didn't even know what a marriage really was! I just thought it was some kind of party with our family and another occasion to show you my many dresses.''

Chuckling at her rambling, he added, jokingly: '' About that, you didn't give me that kiss on the cheek and the hug. If you don't, then all those talks about this perfect wedding will have been for nothing if you can't even accomplish what you said you would. ''

Lifting her head from his torso, letting her long hair swipe on him as she moved her head closer to his head, she gave a gentle kiss on his cheek and hugged as strongly as she could without hurting him.

Smiling at her childish behavior, he took hold of her too, encircling his arms around her thin waist and closed his eyes.

''Goodnight, miss Kuran '', he whispered as she fully enjoyed their closeness.

''Goodnight, mister Kuran'', she replied with a contented sigh full of love.

Skin to skin, love to love, arms in arms, they fell soon fell asleep, blissfully ignorant of the entire world.

It could have been the end of the world and they wouldn't have batted an eyelash as they held each other's tenderly.

So, what could they have done as someone else's whole world was breaking apart?

* * *

It was past midnight, at the time where nearly every human being was asleep, comfortably cuddled under their bed sheets, sometimes with someone else in their arms.

Zero Kiryuu was alone in the darkness of his room, staring at the ceiling, sometimes shooting glances outside his broken window as a small breeze howled through it.

And he was painfully aware that he was not the only one still awake at this time of the night.

''_She's probably holding him in her arms as they make l-''_

He closed his eyelids tightly, not wanting to think about it but knowing that it was the harsh reality.

'' _You know that already, you've been at their bloody incestuous marriage. They probably did it before too; it's been 2 years since they live together, why not? They probably didn't wait to be wed. Now, they just confirmed it to everyone. That she gave herself fully and completely to him. That she loves him, not you. Never you. It was probably one-sided from the very beginning.''_

The silver-haired man tossed in his bed, not wanting to accept what he knew was the truth, a truth that made him want to punch a hole through a certain pureblood face and bash it to a bloody pulp.

Not having said face around in his room, he punched his fist in his pillow, not caring if he tore it or not.

Not that he could make much more of a mess with his apartment. Earlier, he had completely lost it, his devastating aura lashing at his surrounding, creasing deep gashes in the old walls and breaking for an umpteenth time his window. Small bits of glasses now lied on the floor with the empty alcohol bottles against the wall. The big parts of the window probably fell on the sidewalk outside. His window now looked like some hollow monster with jagged teeth. He thought he had heard his mirror in the bathroom crack and it was only a miracle that the apartment still stood in one piece. He wasn't proud that he had let go of his vampire side, giving up on trying to keep his image of control and unfeeling heart. He had thrown it all away, letting his anger, hate and sorrow pour out freely, uncaring of the consequences.

A few other punches finally made his pillow throw up some white feathers, covering his bed with the stuff. Catching one of the feathers that floated a bit around him like some kind of bizarre snow, he caressed it lightly, brooding.

She had been his angel, in the past, taking away part of his pain and suffering with the light glow she gave off every time she smiled, trying to cheer him up a bit. That never really worked like she wanted, he never gave off more than a small smile to answer her kindness or sarcastic and bitter retorts. Sometimes, he mocked her gently, about her physic or her childish antics that reminded him so much of the Chairman's weirdness. She probably understood that it was his own way of responding to her caring attitude toward him, his way of saying thank you. But it was probably not enough, he didn't show it as much as he would've wanted to, not wanting to develop some attachment to someone he would've probably hurt as he transformed inevitably into a level E. He wanted to minimize as much as possible his presence in her life so that when he left this world, she wouldn't be too sad.

But fate was a bitch that decided to play around a bit with his life, showing everyone how ironic she could be.

Now that he finally stabilized, that he could probably go on and live for some more years without going insane with bloodlust, she left him.

While he may not hold much space in her heart, she, in turn, holds so much importance for him that when she left, she took with her every meaning to his existence. That candlelight that made his life light up a bit back then left to lighten another.

That was the problem. She was necessary to him while he was some spare part who could be easily replaced. She didn't need him to breath while he struggled to keep his heart beating while she was away.

She was probably better without him anyway. He saw how she sometimes looked at him with sadness and guilt in her eyes. She wasn't fit for painful emotions; she was made to shine brightly every day. And when hard times came, she could always look for comfort to him, he didn't mind. She had done this so many times before; he could only try to give it back to her.

He let go of the feather, watching it floating down on the floor of his apartment.

''_Now she's with him.''_ he thought bitterly, _'' and he has her entirely. The only thing I could take from her was that ultimate, desperate kiss two years ago. To have the satisfaction of having a taste of what was heaven before falling back down hard in hell.''_

He hated what she had become, what she went back to be, a pureblood vampire. He had meant every word he said to her earlier. She had broken their promise; the silent and steady trust between them breaking apart to unravel the dirty lies lying beneath. She never intended to stay by his side; she already had someone with whom she was fiancé to from the very beginning.

The memory still fresh, he replayed what he said, hearing in his mind the cruel bite of every words.

''_Don't screw with me Kuran. Someone who hasn't enough pride and rightfulness to even keep their promises doesn't deserve any ounce of respect.''_

He didn't keep his, too. He had been directing part of that accusation to himself, knowing that he hadn't been able to protect her from becoming this wretched being. Like him, she had to suck blood from living humans and subsist from others like a leech. Like he had been doing to her.

'' _I hate her so much for what she has done to me, condemning me to death as surely as Shizuka Hio did to me that night. That woman took my humanity while Yuuki Kuran robbed me of every emotion. Except the hate alimenting the beast raging inside of me each time I hunted, each time I saw her at official meetings and balls. Part of me wants to rip her so badly, basking in her blood and finally set me free from the pain I feel every damn day. As for the other…_

His thoughts paused as he looked up at his window and at the moon glowing a soft and cold life, seemingly freezing everything in his room as the white light made the shadows of the piece more dark and silent.

'' _As for the part of me that still loves the old Yuuki, the clumsy, kind and caring Yuuki Cross, it's slowly dying inside as the shadows of my heart grow stronger. The cold is slowly taking over feelings I thought were so strong back when she was human. Even as she is a pureblood, that part of me still loves Yuuki, not the human or the vampire, but the girl. The one with such a strong, unwavering gaze. The girl that I know still exists and lives, even though she now is the sister and wife of Kaname Kuran. That makes it even more painful to watch, to know that she is married to another man when I still hold strong feelings for her.''_

'' I still love her…even though I shouldn't. She was never mine and she would never be. I'm the death of her, she has to hate and be afraid of me.''

He pushed back some hair that stuck on his fevered skin, a bit hot from the many glasses of alcohol he downed to try to get rid of his feeling after the wedding. He wasn't alcoholic, he was normally a very moderated drinker since he started the year of his eighteenth birthday, but that day had been one of the hardest of his life. It didn't work much and he knew it would only give him one hell of a headache, as he would wake up this morning.

Closing his eyelids, his head heavy and feeling his thoughts slow down, he whispered to his empty and lonely room, secretly wishing for the moon to convey his words to her dreams:

'' I love you, Yuuki. For ever and after…''

Finally sensing the sleep claiming him, he surrendered, hoping to never wake up from a sweet, sweet dream.

* * *

'' HEY ZERO! Let me in! Open the door, you sleep head!''

More banging ensued, the noise breaking the silence reigning in the room.

Zero slowly tried to open his eyelids, struggling to adapt to the sunlight of a late morning sun. It pierced fiercely his nocturnal eyes, putting him in more discomfort.

'' If you don't open it, I'm going to take down the door!''

Groaning, he tried to put his head under his pillow to tone out the annoying voice before remembering the state the pillow was in. He let out a sigh, his heavy hangover pounding under his temple and the pain increasing by the seconds.

A muffled ''I'm coming…'' came out from his mouth before he pushed on his elbows to straighten himself up. He came down on the bed fast, head dizzy and sensing the need to throw up on the floor everything he ate yesterday.

Struggling on his feet after much effort, he walked with difficulty to the door that still stood even though the other guy had been pounding on it rather hard.

The silver-haired man turned the lock off before opening the door to a impatient ash-haired hunter. Zero pulled his best glare of anger and annoyance at the older man (It was quite easy to muster in his state) and stood in the doorway, blocking the view of his ravaged room.

'' What do you want, Kaito?'', said the vampire with an ice cold voice, needing a very good reason for not punching really hard in his teacher's face.

Not answering right away, the hunter took a good look a the guy standing in front of him, obviously nursing a very good hangover, looking like he spent the night awake. His skin was very pale, showing off in some gashes in his blue pj's shirt that looked like it went through a fight with a wild cat, and looking even more unhealthy than normal. His pants too showed off signs of a battle, as if the young hunter had been chasing vampires in is pajamas. But Kaito knew better, he'd been aware that his new boss had been so shaken up by yesterday's wedding that he had went directly to his apartment and never came out, event though it had been the middle of the day. _And what was that, I wonder…_

'' Hey, Zero, what are those white things in your hair?'' he asked, not even bothering to answer the question.

Putting his hand in his silver hair, Zero shook out small feathers form his hair threads, letting them fall on the floor. ''_Ah right, those''_ he thought_, ''I had forgotten about them.''_

Sighing heavily, Zero answered in an exhausted voice: '' Those are feathers, Kaito. And now, if you don't plan on answering and just came to wake me up and ask questions, that means I can go back to sleep.''

Zero slammed the door hard, ready to go back to his bed and wanting to spend his whole day off sleeping and forgetting about everything.

Swiftly, Kaito put his foot in the way, stopping him from closing it completely.

'' I said F*CK OFF KAITO! Before I do something rash that I might regret later.'' he menaced, meaning every words in his current state.

Pushing the door with more power to squash Kaito's foot, Zero forced on it as Kaito pushed it in the other way, willing Zero to listen to him before he actually succeeded in making his bones break.

'' Calm down now, Zero! I just came to see you because I was a worried about you. You didn't give signs of life since yesterday morning and I wanted to see how you were taking it.'' he said, wishing Zero would stop acting like he wanted to suicide every time things turned out bad.

He knew that Zero went through a lot in his life, but it didn't give him a damn reason to worry everyone and shut himself to everything. He let him do whatever he wanted yesterday since he had a very good reason to get some time alone after seeing that pureblood girl with that other bastard, but today was today and he wouldn't leave his superior -it was still weird to say that to a guy four years younger- brooding by himself.

They continued to push opposite ways for another moment, making it quite funny to see two grown men struggling against a door.

Finally giving up, Zero stopped pushing and lowered his voice to a normal conversational volume, understanding that he was acting immature by trying to close the door on Kaito's foot. He let go of the door and stepped aside, knowing the older man wouldn't go away before he was reassured.

'' Whatever, get in, look for yourself, and then get out so I can go back to sleep.''

Agreeing to his demand but thinking to himself that he wouldn't go out after that without the other man, the older hunter stepped in, looking around the apartment.

Kaito whistled, a bit impressed by the traces left in his room by Zero's vampire side.

The small apartment was functional and the furniture was sparse, almost Spartan, only what was needed for basic needs. Like his bed, a bedside table with a lamp, a telephone, a wardrobe, a sofa, a small kitchen and a door on the right leading to his bathroom. The only personal things showing that he was the one living in it were the weapons stacked to a wall, some schoolbooks and novels on a shelf and that was it. Bloody Rose was nowhere to be seen as the hunter's paranoid side probably thought it was better to keep it on him at all time, even while he slept.

That could have been any normal hunter room except for the big slashes decorating the walls, some longer than an arm and two centimeters deep.

Some feathers where lying on the floor, with alcohol bottles strewn across the floor or against the wall. There were some glass bits lying near the broken window's jagged parts still standing and it smelt heavily of strong alcohol and wine.

His bed was covered with the tiny feathers, mostly on the pillow's pierced remains, the others lying on the bed sheets looking also worn out and good to be thrown in the trash.

"_Well,_ Kaito thought,_ someone had one hell of a depressing party and nobody invited me. Tche, he's not getting any help with the cleaning.''_

Knowing what Kaito was probably thinking about the state of the room, and not caring about the sarcastic comments that would come, Zero made his way to the kitchen after he closed the door. He opened a cabinet and took out some boxes of pills.

He poured out some water in a glass and swallowed two aspirins before downing the glass in one gulp.

'' You see, that's what makes people worried about you, Zero. I mean, it looks like you had a fight with 20 level E's barehanded. You're lucky I was the one asked to go take a look at you this morning, Yagari-sensei would have killed you if he saw the state you're in. I thought you had tamed this side of you a year ago. At least, you're in one bit and still alive and breathing, or the old man and Cross would have had my skin. I'm supposed to be your insurance, it wouldn't look so good on paper if I wasn't there to stop you from going on rampage.''

Kaito whirled around, stopped wandering in the room to gaze at the other hunter's reaction.

Not moving from his spot, Zero opened the other box of pills, the rattling sound resonating a bit as he opened his mouth and poured a dozen in it before he crushed them. He munched on the blood tablets, willing them like usual to go past his throat without throwing them up. He was now able to take them, but they still made him feel awful and on the verge of barfing. He was no longer sick, but they tasted nasty enough to make him feel like it.

Not wanting to look up and face his comrade, he talked in a low, dull voice: '' Don't say it like I'm trying to end my life over yesterday's event. I'm down, not suicidal.''

Kaito highly doubted that Zero didn't formulate that thought as he tried to drink away his memory with the alcohol. The boy had drunk enough to kill a man; he was only having a big hangover because of his vampire nature. The older man had feared that silver-haired hunter had been too shaken and had taken the decision to end his pain that night. Seems like he had matured enough to not drown in his dark thoughts.

'' Now that you know and feel better with yourself for not having some corpse to take care of, get out and go back to report it to the Headmaster and Shishou so they won't bother me today.'' He put the glass in the sink before walking back to his bed. Kaito held out an arm, blocking Zero on his way to the bed.

''I'm not going until you're head is clear enough and that you are back to normal. Cross and Yagari-sensei ordered me to spend the day with you. It's your day off so you can do whatever you want with it, but it will be with me around.''

Zero growled menacingly, clearly not in the mood for Kaito's obstinate mind:'' Kaito, that's the last time I say it before I kick your ass out of this room…''

'' You know you won't, I'm you subordinate and you still need to order me around and do those hunts for you. And I'm also your teacher and I don't want you to be all gloomy when you get back in my classes this week so you either let me stay with you or I make you stay the whole year with me in detention after school.''

The silver-haired man let out a snort, clearly not taking the threat seriously.

Still, he let the argument go or he would still be at it by the end of the day and he really wanted to go back to sleep now.

'' Fine, you win. If you ever wake me up before I do by myself, I'm going to strangle you.''

Slipping back under his bed sheets, Zero dozed off immediately in the hope that when he would wake up again, it wouldn't be with this awful headache.

Kaito sat on the couch, facing the broken window, and pulled out from some pile of paper and books lying on it some crossword notebook.

_I hope he never finds out that Cross and Yagari-sensei never gave me the order to check up on him and stay all day._

/

/

/

Author's note: Well, I hope it was okay enough and that you didn't think it would have been better to just keep the fiction as a oneshot. I'll try to write the next chapter very soon. I'm not reassuring anyone if I say I don't have a clue what's going to happen next, eh?

About all those talks about sleep, I'm very sorry, I myself was struggling to stay awake and write this chapter so you can feel my sleepiness in this chapter. I'm dead tired so you better enjoy it.

Please review and tell me, do you prefer short chapters with sooner uploads or longer chapters that takes more time to write?


	3. Life after you

Life after you 01:12

Okay guys, I know i promised that i would stop my ramblings, but seems like my muse like to babble a lot about her thought. So don't expect a lot of kickass action. But hey, the kid is down, of course he's not very active or anything. Though I'll try to do better next time. The title was named for '' Life after you'' from Daughtry. Not much in link with the content of the chapter, but if you can guess where i slid some hints of the song, I'll give ya a cookie ^^

Another long chapter.

Disclaimer: Vampire Knight don't belong to me

/

/

/

It was the middle of the afternoon when Zero woke up, a bit disoriented but not feeling as sick as earlier.

Pushing himself up, he was glad to notice that his balance was back, that his stomach had stopped making flip-flops in his body and that his headache had lessened to a supportable level. He pushed away his torn bed sheets and brushed off the feathers from himself before meeting Kaito's questioning gaze.

'' What are you going to do now for the rest of the day? '', inquired the hunter who sat on the couch, doing crosswords.

Zero glanced around, looking outside at the town and at what lay farter in the forest before answering: '' I want to visit my family and go in town to eat ramen. I'm going to take a shower and clean up a bit too before I go.''

'' Sounds good to me.'', agreed Kaito, before going back to his crosswords.

The silver hunter got up, took some clothes from his wardrobe and entered his bathroom. He closed the door and was glad to see that there weren't much damages in this part of the apartment. The shower looked like it still worked and there weren't any gashes in the wall. The only thing broken was the mirror which had cracked, some pieces of it on the floor.

He took a look at himself, not surprised to see that he looked as awful as he had felt earlier. He still didn't feel good and would have liked to let some of his anger out again to clean his mind from the dark thoughts swirling in it, but it wasn't possible with Kaito around.

He proceeded to undress himself, throwing away his pajamas in a trash can because he obviously couldn't wear them anymore and putting his gun on the sink. He entered his shower and turned his water on, waiting for it to go hot. Finally sensing that the temperature was okay, he started washing himself, cleaning away the feeling of sweat sticking to him like a second skin. He put shampoo in his hair, rubbing through the silver strands, before turning the water icy cold to rinse his head.

He let the water run on him, waking him up effectively as he tried to clear his thoughts and regain control of himself. Goosebumps started to race across his skin, but he didn't care because he really needed to cool off.

As he stood under the cold water, a lost look on his face, not really looking at the shower head but at some ghost image of a girl smiling and fading into nothingness, he let go of the one emotion he didn't allow himself to show that night. The fictive rain washed away a single trace of sadness as it ran on his cheek before falling. He never thought his heart could break once more. He had thought it had been long dead, that it had hit the limit of suffering a heart could withstand before shattering. He had went through a Spartan training, he had hardened his heart through the hunts and the killings, he no longer was the apprentice who hesitated before the enemy.

The broken man balled his hands into fists and promised to himself that he would accomplish his goal. And that he would forget about everything that happened between them. She was no longer the girl he loved, she was someone else's and he would hunt her, like he had said back then. He would push her away from him, out of his reach so he didn't have to kill her anytime soon.

His heart went back to the cold and hard rock it had been since that day. The fortress guarding his heart wouldn't open to anyone anymore, it had learnt his lesson the painful way. _Never again._

He stepped out of the shower after having turned off the water. His head was clear now, he knew what he had to do and he wouldn't waver anymore. Taking his towel, he dried himself, passing it roughly in his hair to get most of the wetness out of it. He dressed up, putting on some white shirt and a pair of dark grey jeans. He passed his belt in his pants and didn't bother with his cufflinks.

He took a look at the reflection in the mirror, a bit distorted by the web-like cracks in it. He looked normal again, if not a bit paler than usual. He noticed that his wet hair was longer than in the past, the strands having grown almost as long as Ichiru's. He was a bit disturbed by the image, but reassured to see a familiar face, as fake as the illusion could be.

When he got out, he found Kaito lying lazily on the couch, still scribbling letters on the small book. But, strangely, the sheets on the beds were missing and the bottles and glasses shards were gone.

Zero let out a small smile, akin to a smirk, the first in a long, long while. ''_And here I thought Kaito wasn't the type to clean up after someone else's mess…''_

Looking up, Kaito was surprised to see Zero's expression. In all the time he had spend with him, Zero rarely showed him that face. And it never had been as genuine as this one, most of the time it was a mocking or ironic half-hearted grin.

''_Seems that he's finally back to his senses. It's crazy how this woman can make him act oddly. First, a full-blown anger crisis and after, a smile. What's next, laughter?'',_ he thought, smirking at the idea.

'' Yeah, yeah, smirk all you want, Kaito. Now move your ass or I'm leaving without you.'', Zero said, taking a small coat and his holster out and slipping them on. He put Bloody Rose in place -hidden from view and chained to his pants- before stepping out of his apartment, soon followed by his teacher.

* * *

The cemetery was empty when the two hunters arrived. The place was far away, hidden in the middle of the forest outside the town. It was a hunter cemetery, where lay generations of hunter families inside their graves. Walking in the aisles of grass, between the rows of tombstones, both men advanced quietly, paying respect to the dead.

Stopping at a crossroad, Kaito faced Zero who also looked back, understanding what his colleague wanted to do.

Talking in a quiet voice, Zero answered to the silent inquisition. '' I'll join you in a moment, it won't take too long.''

The ash-haired hunter nodded and took a different path from Zero's, going in direction of the Takamiya's family grave.

Holding the bouquets of white roses he bought earlier with Kaito, Zero went on, passing the headstones, erected marble crosses and sorrowful carved angels before stopping before his parents'.

The Kiryuu's part of the cemetery was well trimmed, probably because they were an influent family. Their status was as influent in the hunter world as the Ichijo's were to the vampires.

Putting one knee down, the only living descendant to the Kiryuu family bowed his head in respect to the deceasing. He deposed one of his bouquet on the white marble, sending a quick prayer to his mom and dad. He really missed them and he couldn't help but think about what they would have said about his current state. He was a dishonor to the Kiryuu name, an error, someone who didn't belong in the lineage.

Lifting his hand, he slowly traced with his fingers the names carved into stone for eternity.

His father, Suzume Kiryuu, had been a rightful, trustworthy man. He had been a strong, yet very cold and serious person. He never had been good with words and he never spent much time with his family because of work.

Zero had been his father's portrait ever since he was a child. He had the silver hair and the amethyst eyes, traditional traits of the Kiryuu's heritage. He inherited a lot from his father's bloodline, he hadn't much in common with his mother.

His mother, Naoko Koizumi, had been a strong-willed woman, very independent and open-minded. She had been very true to herself and held great convictions about a peaceful future with vampires and had been the one to teach him acceptance of the vampire race at young age, much to his father dismay who wasn't convinced of this ideal. She had made great effort to spend as much family time as they could between the hunts, the moving from one house to another and the training. And even if she knew her children's fate and about the curse plaguing them, she cared for the both of them very much. People said a lot about her behind her back, but that didn't stop her from loving Ichiru or Zero. That caring attitude had been passed on to him when he was kid while her wits and confidence went to her second child.

Maybe she would have been able to accept him, to keep on caring for him even if he didn't deserve it. His father would have been accepting his son with more difficulties, but he would probably understand it with some time and persuasions from his wife. They never were present a lot, but they loved him, he was sure of it. He wondered if they were still watching over him from heaven.

''_If they are, then they must be very disappointed. I couldn't even avenge them nor protect Ichiru. I was used by the purebloods like a tool to kill my own twin. I killed him.''_

In his head, he begged for their forgiveness, for the things he had done and for what he had become.

He stood up, put his hand on top off the marble headstone before going to the next, empty grave.

He knew he didn't have to come to Ichiru's empty tomb, his body having disappeared into thin air when he had killed him. There were neither ashes nor crystals, nothing to put to the ground. The only thing remaining from his deceased brother was the katana he had been using back then and the blood flowing in his very own body.

Zero now lived with his brother's essence, his soul had finally becoming one with Ichiru. He felt complete, but there still was this feeling of loss and loneliness. He had shared a strong bond with his twin and…

'' _You still do.''_

Zero wasn't startled when he heard Ichiru's voice. It had been a year since he discovered he could talk to his brother, whatever he was now, in some special occasions. It didn't have to be at the cemetery, but he still came, feeling better here then at some other places. He didn't understand much about how and why he could, and though it had spooked him a bit before, he became rapidly habituated to it.

'' Ichiru…, I miss you.'' He whispered, knowing he didn't have to speak at all to converse with his twin, but feeling the need to speak aloud. He turned around to face his twin, who looked exactly the same as the day he died, minus the wounds and blood staining him. Same purple eyes gazed at him as Ichiru smiled softly at him.

'' _You came here again. You know you don't have to, I'm always with you. And I see you brought me flowers. It's not necessary but thanks for caring. I miss you too, dumbass, if only you were listening to me more. But all you do is brood and mess your head with dark thoughts.'' _Ichiru said, bringing Zero's head closer to him.

''…There have been a lot on my mind lately, I don't know what I should do now that I'm not needed anymore. I lost my purpose, I just hunt vampires, go to school and do my job at the Headquarter. ''Zero said as he leaned against his mirror image, appreciating the closeness.

'' _You know that's not all you think about, Zero. That girl is what is really on your mind lately.''_

Frowning, Zero kept silent.

'' _It's not over yet Zero, you still have things to do in this life, a goal to achieve. And I'll be with you, always. Just don't loose sight from your objective. The real one, what you really care the most about…''_ Ichiru whispered his last words, hugged Zero lightly, the presence being so intangible, the way you felt sunlight on your skin, before disappearing completely.

Zero sat in silence on the grave, replaying Ichiru's words in his head.

'' _What I really wanted to do back then was to spend what was left of my life to protect Yuuki and her happiness. All I have been after was for her to live a life full of laughter. She didn't have to love me back or even notice my own love for her, as long as I was by her side. Now that this Yuuki_ _is__ gone…_''he mused, thinking about the way he felt for her years ago.

Not finding his answer, Zero shook his head, leaving it as that for now. He would have to think about it another time, he needed to go. Leaving the roses on the grave, he got up and went back to the cemetery's gates.

* * *

It was late afternoon when they came back to town and ordered their ramen bowls. Sitting behind the counter, the two hunters attacked their meal with ferocity. Zero, not having eaten much since last day, was especially ravenous, eating away his salt ramen, appreciating one of his favorite meal. The cook was habituated by his visits since he often came before or after work and always added an egg or two and did it exactly the way he liked it. As for Kaito, he didn't eat dinner earlier, not finding much in Zero's fridge. He was gladly scarfing on his noodles, very fond of them too.

The ate in silence, not knowing what to say in Kaito's case, and not caring about it in Zero's case.

The silver-haired hunter only raised his head from his bowl when he felt the vampire aura. All his sense in alert, he recognized it as a noble's aura and a familiar one at that. Normally, he wouldn't check it out but since they were in a hunter city and vampires avoided those places usually, that presence was a bit suspicious.

Leaving his money on the table, he said for Kaito's information : '' I think some noble is nearing this place, I'll go see what it's about.''

''_What a waste…'', _Kaito sighed, not having finished his dish, before he left money for the meal and followed Zero. He was growing sick of having to follow the boy around like some leashed dog.

They left the restaurant and followed their instinct that told them it was just a street down the ramen shop.

When Zero apperceived the shop sign from where he sensed the vampire's presence, he stopped dead in his track. _''You must be kidding me.' '_he thought, disbelieving at the fact that the noble was at the sweets shop Yuuki used to pull him with her to go eat parfaits and cakes.

And said vampire's back was at him, as he flirted with two cute girls wearing aprons, giggling and blushing at him, as he leaning against the outside walls of the building.

Masking his presence, Zero walked on them, took the vampire by his shirt collar from behind and pulled him away from the girls.

'' Hey, what! Kiryuu? What are you doing here!'', said the blond-head, shocked as he recognized the moody hunter.

'' I hope for you that you didn't plan to suck them dry, Aido-sempai.'', retorted the other, looking suspiciously at the smaller vampire.

Kaito, deciding it wasn't best to talk about vampires before the waitresses, winked at them. '' I'm sorry if you had plans with this guy, but we'll have to borrow him for a while. '' The girls, absolutely delighted that the handsome man had smiled so sexily at them didn't complain at being interrupted and went back dreamily inside the store.

Zero snorted at his comrade's diversion -he'd always been a womanizer- but took that opportunity to drag the blond vampire further away. The aristocrat started resisting against the pull, but stopped as soon as he sensed the gun's muzzle on his back.

They stopped walking when they found some isolated street, where no one could hear them. Kaito chose to wait for Zero to begin.

'' What did you drag me here for! I did nothing wrong!'' said Aidou, defending himself. ''_I__ really did nothing, why are they acting like that?''_ He thought.

Kaito too wanted to know that. What the vampire said was true, he had done nothing wrong yet but looking suspicious. There must be some reason why the blond vampire was at the café, and Kaito would bet anything that it had to do with the Kuran family.

'' What were you doing at that café, Aido-sempai?'' questioned Zero.

'' Well, for your information, I was eating sweets and conversing with those lovely girls from back then. And then, you just had to come and interrupt us. It never had been my intention to take their blood, I'm a pacific vampire.'', responded the noble.

'' That time when you almost bit a student at the Academy was you being ''pacific'' ?'', Zero pointed out.

A bit embarrassed, Aido fiddled with his fingers. He knew the student Kiryuu was talking about was Cross Yuuki, before he had known she was Kaname's sister.

'' It was just a slight error, it doesn't mean that I don't respect the pacific ideal.''

Letting go of the vampire that he still held by the collar, the hunter bent down and took Aido's bag from his hands. Offended, Aido stopped himself from taking it back and glared at the silver-haired man. '' _He really knows no manner, that level D.''_

Zero searched a bit through it only, to find sweets, cakes and other delicacies, in a huge amount.

'' What, so you just wanted to buy those and eat them all by yourself? Aren't you a bit gluttonous, sempai? '', Zero inquired, trying to piss off the noble.

That did it. '' Of course not! What do you think I am, I'm a very healthy young man, I don't eat that much chocolate. It's not even mine, I'm just running an errand for Yuuki-sama!'' , Aidou exploded sick of being accused when he didn't do anything.

The hunter had stopped rummaging through the content and glared at the vampire. He shoved back the bag on the blond man's chest. The aristocrat's retort died on his lips as soon as he saw Zero's face.

The look on the hunter face's gave him the chills, he was very uncomfortable under the unspeakable hate lying in the purple orbs. Aido was experiencing a feeling akin to his master's pureblood aura when it was unleashed. It was a dark, unwelcoming feeling, that made him want to crawl under a rock. Not that he would dishonor himself like that, he had to much pride, but it was a very primal urge. His instinct told him that the guy before him was very able to challenge a pureblood. Before they left the Academy, the hunter was a very hard-headed and rebellious one, but he didn't stand much chances against Kaname. Now, he obviously had more power than a noble and it was quite scary.

'' I forgot that you're Kuran's minion. _She _just have to order you around because _she_ has the power to make you obey.'', coldly said Zero, no longer casually instigating on Aidou's presence.

''She didn't order me of anything! She asked me a favor and I gladly agreed without being obligated. She's not the type to do those kind of things!'' replied Aido, not able to let his trap shut when Zero insinuated that Yuuki was forcing him to be her slave or whatnot. Really, she was too kindhearted to do that to him. The blond vampire had become one of her close friend because he kept on treating her the same way as before.

Zero didn't have the time to replicate to this because a level D pounced on him from the top of the building and clawed right through his chest.

/

/

/

Author's note: dududuuuun, cliffie! Hope it wasn't too boring. -_-

Sorry if I didn't give any fanservice moment while Zero was in the shower. I just thought it was weird to start talking about his abs or whatever when he was depressed.

Suzume and Naoko are made up name because I alway felt that Zero and Ichiru's parents were never given the same respect and importance than for the Kuran's. They could have at least a face, but all they had were blank faces. It's kinda sad.

Suzume means '' Sparrow'' while Naoko means ''Honest child''.

I had to put Aido somewhere, haha, he's just too funny those days. And I like the interaction between Zero and him, it's comical.

Don't forget to leave me a review, it's really appreciated and I take your opinion at heart 3


	4. Pools of blood and heaps of ashes

01:11 Well hello guys, sorry for the long delay, I finally made my mind to plan before writing. Thanks to Pooxhebony, you'll probably be able to read something more structured and will make more sense. And there are less chances that I stop right in the middle of it because of a writer's block. This one is a really long chapter, I had a lot to write. Finally, for action-lovers, there's finally some fight. Okay, it's not really gore or anything, but it's my first time writing battle scenes. I hope it's understandable, it's actually quite difficult to describe fights in words.

So, I finally have a plot that makes some sense, yay!

By the way, I follow VK online, so I put some elements from after Yuuki left and decided not to put others because I didn't feel like it. So, forget about what happened at the ball. In my fanfic, they did see each other in official meetings but nothing happened other than hostile looks.

Disclaimer: Vampire Knight characters don't belong to me.

/

/

/

It was as if time had stopped flowing. The instant the level D lunged at Zero, it's as if the guys' movements went into slow motion. It didn't last long.

Suddenly, all hell broke loose. At least twenty female vampires level D jumped from the rooftops onto the street below where stood the two hunters and the noble vampire.

The first attacker dealt a severe blow to the skilled hunter, ripping the flesh under its claws and breaking some ribs along the way. Zero felt an awful flash of suffering coursing through his body, starting from his chest to the rest his members. He closed his eyes, trying to fight his body instincts of blackening out from the searing pain. He put his hand in front of his mouth as he coughed out blood, one of his lungs pierced by the level D. He was heaving, trying to catch his breath but failing to do it properly with the burning feeling in his throat and lungs.

He had been surprised; he hadn't sensed them even though his hunter senses were especially honed. His emotions probably blinded him for a fraction of seconds when he menaced Aido.

The D attacked again, swiftly slashing with his hardened nails in attempt to decapitate the silver-haired hunter, but this time, Zero was prepared. He saw the blow coming and in a blink of an eye, he took out Bloody Rose from his holster and shoot straight in between the woman's face. A second blow to the heart assured him of the death of the vampire before she turned to ashes.

The teen didn't even take a step that he doubled over, coughing up more blood. A crimson puddle was forming at his feet, more of it oozing from the gash in his chest. It was the size of a fist, a red hole right below his heart. It missed the vital organ, but it wouldn't change much if his lungs were rapidly filling with blood. He wiped the blood dribbling on his chin down his neck before crouching in a defensive position.

Another woman vampire pounced on him from his right and he dodged her, before pulling a bullet through her head. She was blown to smithereens but already a dozen of them circled him. It was no good. He couldn't defend his back and he made a vulnerable prey with all those wounds. His regenerative skills were kicking in, trying to repair the thorn flesh and ripped insides, but even the vampire speed wouldn't be fast enough to save his life if those vamps harmed him again. And the heavy scent of his blood flowing freely from his wound didn't help. It was only exciting them more and make them drool in hunger.

One of his attackers -wielding a katana- attacked him rapidly, swinging the blade dangerously close to Zero's vital points. Zero's training took over as he pared with the vampire woman, using his gun to fend off the increasing attacks. He couldn't shoot her at close range but she had a weapon made for close combats. She was skilled, that was sure. She mastered the art of kendo and her vampire powers were above average for her social class. And all he had was Bloody Rose's metallic body to block her from skewering him. **But it wouldn't be enough against the most powerful hunter in history.**

He swept past her guard, pushing sideway her blade and coming almost chest-to-chest with her before swinging violently the gun's muzzle on the side of her head. She went down, knocked out and bleeding profusely from the head. If she'd been human, she would have suffered of commotion or even coma, but she was a vampire, she would survive. Well, not for long since the hunter blew her head with a bullet through the skull.

'' _Where the hell is Kaito when I need him!'' _thought Zero has he tried to make space between him and the other attackers by pointing the bloody muzzle of his gun at their face. They were slowly closing on him, like lionesses on an antelope. They were bizarrely very precautious in their approach, not daring to attack in group a single prey like mindless level E's would. They looked very sane and cleverer than normal E. Those D were weirdly too powerful, as dangerous as a level E but with the advantage of being intelligent. The katana-wielder from before was a proof that they weren't driven by instinct, far from that.

He saw Kaito dealing with about five vampires not very far from him, but he looked too caught up with the fight to help him. Aido was probably fighting more of them farther away, Zero couldn't see. But never once did he think that the noble was behind the attack. He never knew the blond well, but he had seen enough to know that the vampire would never be the type of person to do that.

They were clearly outnumbered, but it wasn't the first time. The novelty was that the attackers were armed and were way too powerful for their level.

Concentrating, Zero willed with his mind to awaken his gun's true nature. As if owning a life of it's own, silvery thorns sprouted from the cold metal, the tendrils burying themselves in the hunter's flesh. It was very disagreeable to sense the entity plunge in his arteries and suck his blood with avidity like a vampire, but this enhanced weapon would make those level D's back away. He took aim at them and shot, blasting two vampires with the silvery vines that lunged at them.

He pulled the trigger rapidly at them, hitting two more with the gun's thorns but his aim was thrown off when some vampire tackled him from behind. He fell to the ground hard, a spike of pain striking him on the right shoulder when he landed on it. The teen grunted when his head collided the cement hard with a loud ''thunk'' and his lower lip split upon impact. His gun skidded across the cement, leaving his tight grasp on it. The collision made him see stars and he was more than a little bit disoriented. The vines immediately retracted when he lost contact with the gun handle, returning back to its initial form. Their extraction was incredibly more painful than when they had pierced his skin. Zero scrambled on the floor to take his weapon back but the vampires were faster. Two of them took hold of his shoulders and stopped him from advancing toward his fallen gun, maintaining him face first on the ground. Another one used his dagger to cut the silver chain relying the gun to his belt and kicked it away.

''_Shit!'' _he cursed in his head, knowing he was in a lot of trouble. He tried to shake them off but their grip was too strong and he was weakening from loss of blood.

_TCHAC!_

One of the weights holding him down crumbled to dust and Zero was able to swing the other one off his back. A powerful kick to the shin of that vampire was enough to make him stumble away in pain. Zero stood up very fast, knowing that there were more vampires circling him. He had made a breach in the circle earlier when he had misfired and the vines had killed two of the vampires harassing Kaito. His comrade-in-arms had taken the opportunity take out another one and throw one of his knife at one of the attackers holding the teen down. It hit the mark and made Zero free himself from the level D's.

He saw through his troubled vision about five vampires left around him in semi-circle, holding knives and daggers and ready to avenge their fallen comrades. He grabbed Kaito's knife lying in the ashes and held it in front of him, but he knew he was in disadvantage against armed enemies and without his trusted Bloody Rose at his side. His movements were starting to slow down and he blocked the women's weapon with sluggish movement.

Glancing at Kaito, he apperceived his gun lying near his old friend's feet.

'' HEY! Kaito, throw me my gun! On the ground, hurry!'' he shouted hurriedly in a raspy, husky voice while he dodged one of the enemy's attack. The fight had to end soon, his vision was starting to blur and his muscles were sore from exhaustion. It took too much effort to stay upright when he had such an awful wound on the chest and his labored breathing was starting to sped up and catch in his throat. Blood was seeping from his lip were he had split it and he licked it away. It was his own blood, but it was enough to awaken an incredible hunger from deep inside. He needed blood, badly, and the Bloody Rose would take even more from him if he used the gun's special ability again. It was a miracle that he was still able to fight in his condition. But, he was worthy of the title of HA president and best hunter in history and wouldn't go down without a fight.

Escaping attacks from the two threatening vampires left alive, Kaito dove for the gun and did a roll on himself before standing up again with the weapon in hands. Instead of throwing it at his comrade-in-arms, he took aim and shot.

Zero was taken by surprise, never expecting him to use the gun. It was already too late to move away by the time he saw the trajectory taken by the bullet.

The teen screamed in pain as the hunter bullet shot right through the already bleeding hole, halting his vampire healing and piercing right through his lung. Blood spurted from the wound, tainting even more in red what wasn't already soaked. If the hole from earlier wasn't enough to kill him, the hunter gun did the trick.

Zero's shocked look gazed back at Kaito who stood paralyzed by the sight of his falling hunter friend, as if he didn't quite understand what had just happened, unbelieving. Stupor was clear in the ash-haired hunter's eyes and he let go of the gun he had just retrieved.

Zero's legs buckled under him, no longer able to support him. He fell to the ground and didn't get back up. The pain was unbearable; all his developed senses were aflame, his nerves in panic alert sending messages of dolor to his brain. He couldn't hold on to reality, his eyes were dilating in panicked instinct. His breath quickened to faint, suffering breaths, unable to get enough air to his brain and body. His heart was thumping erratically and Zero wondered if he was finally dying and going to join his ancestors. Maybe it would be more accurate to say that hell was more appropriated for the like of a vampire, but he couldn't phantom something worse than the torture he was feeling at the moment. Soon enough, but not as quick as he would have liked, he sensed his extremities go number, and the pain diluting in his chest. It was like a thick veil covering his senses. So he let go, his mind stopped fighting for dear life and he welcomed the cold and silent darkness swallowing him.

* * *

Aido was fighting away from the two hunters against 5 vampire girls who attacked fiercely with hunter blades. He had been separated from the other guys when they had jumped from the rooftops, driving him further way on another street while he defended himself.

'' _No fair!''_ he thought_, '' how could they even think of using those weapons to kill vampires with special guards to protect them from hunter magic? Level D's can't afford pricey weapons like these. And why are they so powerful!''_

If Aido hadn't been able like every lamia vampires to sense what class was a vamp with their aura, he would have thought they were noblesse too. Minus the occasional special abilities. That was his strongest ability, ice making that is. The Aido family was known to use ice power with great skill, and Hanabusa, being the genius that he was, mastered it too.

Grabbing one girl by the shoulder, he froze her from her bust to the rest of her body. She looked like some menacing ice statue, arms stretched toward him with two small daggers in hands, still glaring at him from inside her frozen cocoon. Using his vampire strength, he took hold of her outstretched arms and swung her like a baseball bat toward a woman D that had sneaked up on him from behind. _''How inelegant, I hope it works at least''_, he thought while he let the statue fly straight at the vampire.

The sneak attack failed, but she had ducked rapidly to escape her frozen comrade thrown at her. She was injured a bit by some ice shards scratching her side, but it was nothing serious. The ice statue crashed on the brick walls surrounding the aisle and broke in thousand of tiny blue crystals. That girl was no more.

'' _Missed. I'll have to take care of her another way.''_ he thought, annoyed.

The two other vamps who had stood on the side of the fight decided to act. Both girls, probably sisters, looked about his age and had wide blue eyes and glossy hair. One of them took hold of the other's arm and, rotating her hips, used centrifuge force to propel her sister toward him. Feet first, she kicked him in the stomach and made him slam hard against the wall. His back hit the bricks with force, making the stones crack under the pressure and lifting small clouds of dust. Aido slid on the ground, his head ringing from the after shock.

The pretty vampire teen had landed on her feet, uninjured, and pressed one of her stylish boot on his chest, holding him down on the cement. She wore a cute mini-skirt and pink top, looking all girly and fragile even though she had just slammed a higher ranked vampire on a wall. Her blond-haired sister showed up at her side, smirking. ''Ha ha, got you now, mister! '' She laughed coldly, looking down on him.

The brunette holding him down approached her face from the blond vampire and pulled out a small knife from her boot. She held it near Aido's throat, the razor sharp metal pressing against his Adam's apple. Carefully gulping down saliva, Aido looked nervously at the threatening blue gaze.

'' Girls, wait a bit before killing him, I'd like to question him.''

The calm and serious voice belonged to the woman he threw the ice girl at. She looked about in her late thirty, with indigo eyes and brown hair down to her waist.

She pushed gently aside the blond D and crouched down at eye level with the noble. She said to him: '' We don't have anything personal against you, boy, but your destiny is to die by our hands. So, answer our questions and no unnecessary harm will be done to you.''

Not yielding under the implied menace of torture, Aido cockily replied: '' So, you're saying that you got ordered by some high placed vampire to do the dirty job of murdering me, in order to plan some twisted scheme.''

She didn't reply nor denied it.

Continuing, Aido's glared menacingly at the dark-eyed woman: '' Were the Kuran's clan your true target? Are you working for the Council or any political enemy?''

'' Shut up, she's the one asking the questions!'' acidly said the teenager girl with the knife, pressing her feet harder on his chest and effectively cutting his respiration. He tried to twist away from the pressure, but it didn't do any good.

'' It's okay, Grace, he's just worried about his masters, we can at least understand that.'' said the older woman, not bothering to turn around to face the girl.'' And no, we don't mean any harms to the Kuran. Our target is the young Hunter Association President; you were just at the wrong place and at the wrong time. Our comrades are with the hunter kids, dealing with them. We moved away quite a bit with all that fighting, but it doesn't matter.''

Aido wasn't satisfied with the answer. He still felt like the mastermind behind the attack was using him to affect the Kuran.

Putting her hand on Grace's arm that held the knife, she gently added: '' Hunters have always been the vampire race's enemies; you can understand why we want that boy dead. Granted, I'm sure you were in terrible relation with the Kiryuu boy by the way you were glaring at him earlier. If you could just answer us before dying, that would help the vampire cause. ''

Aido's kept silent for a moment, seemingly caught in his thoughts. Finally, after a while, a small smile crept on his lips, his face looking almost amused.

'' Well, it's true that Kiryuu has always been a bother and I can't stand his foulmouthed attitude,'' he agreed, remembering all the times he had wanted to kill him himself.

'' But what I can't stand his your menace at Kaname-sama's objective of peace between races!'', he practically screamed, trusting one of his hand toward the woman's.''

He caught her hand resting on Grace's arm as she instinctively tried to dodge his trust. Ice formed under his palm, effectively trapping the woman's hand against the girl's arm.

When she had reacted to his movement, the teenager had made a swift slash with her knife in attempt to kill the boy, but her arm was pulled behind violently as the older woman tried to retreat away since they were now linked to each other.

Using the surprise effect to his advantage, Aido trusted his palms forward, creating crystals of ice that pierced through their chest.

The teen crumbled instantly to ashes, not leaving a trace of her existence. The woman D had fallen on the ground on her back, dying more slowly than the girl.

Aido got up, brushing away the dirt on his clothes and the footprint on his shirt. He wasn't hurt too badly, nothing that vampire healing couldn't heal. He was probably bruised all over and he was bleeding a bit on the side from a rock scratching his tight when he was held down. He had been cut a bit on the neck by Grace's knife, but it was already healed.

He looked around, but the sister of the pretty girl had vanished, probably reporting back to her master.

He approached the vampire woman, looking down on her face as she gazed at the sky.

Noticing him looming over her through her hazy indigo eyes, she asked him with a suffering voice: '' Is my girl dead?''

The blond vampire answered her, compelled to be kind somehow to the woman who had showed some kind of gentleness at him even thought she was ordered to kill him.

'' Yeah, she is, it was very fast, she didn't have the time to feel it. She was your daughter?''

She looked a bit relieved and a small smile showed up on her face as she whispered her last words: '' No, I was her English teacher but I cared a lot about my students. It's a sad thing that I couldn't protect her, she was so kind before…At least, we're free now…''

She vanished into ashes, rejoining the remains of her student and dissolving in the wind that swept on the ground. Aido gazed at the ashes as it was blown away in the sky, feeling a bit down.

'' _They do look more free now that they are dead. But, free of what? Or who?''_

Pondering on her last words and on what he had learnt earlier, he walked down the street to where he sensed the hunters' auras.

* * *

Aido turned a corner and came upon two vampire girls, their backs to him. Seizing the situation, he saw that things were going badly for the hunters.

'' _So, these two girls are fighting that ash-haired guy and…is that Kiryuu's gun?''_

Kaito locked eyes with Aido but brought back his attention on the attackers facing him.

'' ' HEY! Kaito, throw me my gun! On the ground, hurry!'' yelled some familiar voice.

Aido turned toward the source of the voice, spotting the silver-haired hunter fighting off 5 vampires at the same time. He looked badly hurt and in a tight spot, backed off to a wall and surrounded by the girls. His movements were sluggish, barely keeping him alive, as he seemed to be blocking the weapons with a dagger.

Kaito too had heard Zero and when Aido looked back at him, he saw something strange in his gaze. Like some kind of special, mischievous glint.

Aido saw with some weird slow-motion way Kaito dodge an attack, tumble, grab the gun and shoot.

More precisely, he didn't see what the bullet had hit, but he had definitely seen the silver-haired teen stumble as blood splurted with renewed vigor from his chest. And he had smelled it too, the odor of death creeping on the hunter as he dropped down on the floor and lied in a pool of crimson liquid. The odor was strong, overpowering. Aido would have liked to say that Kiryuu's blood smelled as badly as his mood, but it wasn't the case. It was a weird, exotic and unique mix, a part coming from the Kiryuu lineage and the other from the Kuran siblings. It smelled like pure blood.

'' _I wonder if it tastes like it too.''_ he thought, blinded by his sense before he realized with horror what he had imagined. He shook his head, denying with his entire mind the enticing scent.

The girls were looking down on their prey, probably wondering if they could have a taste of it right now. One of them actually crouched and dipped a finger in the pool of blood before licking it. Her eyes flashed with bloodlust, appreciating the savor.

Meanwhile, Kaito had dropped the gun, as if he had waken up and realized whom he had shot.

Aido saw the two level D's profiting of his stupor to backstab him, but he stopped them with his ice, freezing and shattering them.

Kaito snapped out of his stupefaction when he heard the shattering sound. He didn't look back, knowing there weren't any enemies left behind him and bent over to retrieve the gun he had dropped.

This time, Kaito fired the Bloody Rose at the level D's, not missing any. He was shooting with rage in his eyes mixed with guilt, as if putting the blame on the vampire teenage girls and refusing to acknowledge the fact that he had shot his comrade. The girls dissolved into small clouds of ashes soon swept by the breeze.

They rapidly went to see the damages. Zero was lying in his own blood; face up, his breath weak and labored. Each expiration made blood seep from the hole in his chest as his lung tried to pump air in and out.

''F*ck, he's going to die at this rate, his vampire healing abilities have been halted by the bullet and he's losing all his blood.'' Kaito said, taking Zero's coat and holster away from him. He took off his own jacket and tied it around Zero's chest in a weak attempt to stop the blood from leaving his body.

'' We need to find a doctor rapidly, maybe if we ask people from the neighborhood.'' said Aido, panicking slightly. He didn't like the hunter much but he didn't like the idea of him dying like this either.

Kaito shot him The Look, as if saying '' You're kidding me right, you can't be this stupid'' and replied to the blond guy as he hoisted Zero by his armpits and pulled him up a bit.

'' Right, because human doctors won't freak out with having to treat a blood lusting half-dead vampire. Even if they didn't, there aren't any hospitals near this part of the town; Zero would die by the time we arrived. As for the neighborhood, I think they are under some kind of sleeping power because none came out even though we were making a lot of noise. So, give me a hand to get him back at his apartment. We aren't too afar and that's the only thing we can do for now.''

Knowing they didn't have much time, Aido complied without protesting at the way he had talked to him, as if saying he was slow or something. He grabbed the unconscious teenager's legs and both guys lifted him from the ground.

They soon left hurriedly from the street, leaving behind pools of blood and heaps of ashes as night came.

* * *

''Lord, everything is going accordingly to the plan.'' said the blond vampire girl.

The small figure looked at the girl bowing down at his feet.

Smiling mischievously, the small boy spoke to no one in particular in an amused voice.

'' The bait is set; we just have to wait for the big fish to bite the hook. It's going to be so much fuuu~n…''

/

/

/

Author note: Guess who's that suspicious boy xD

If Zero ever died in VK, I think I'd be inconsolable TT_TT

Review please, it's always fun to know what it made you think about (and if you have some constructive comments to give me for how to write battles scene, please do say it! )


	5. Escaping the beehive

Escaping the beehive 01:08

This chapter can almost be considered like crack XD

The situation is so unreal, but I really didn't know what to do. Am so tired, like always. Forgive me for the many typos, I'll try to get back on them later. I hop this chapter won't make you hate Yuuki more because of her silliness. I'm the same when I panic or when I'm worried, I don't think very straight. I hope I didn't make her ooc too.

* To all the reviewers who don't have a ffnet account, I did read your reviews and they make me very happy. Unfortunately, I won't reply personally to them since it's a bit complicated, though they cheer me and I thank you all very much. Thanks to all of you who reviewed and those who read my fic, this story is still going on and won't die anytime soon*

Disclaimer: I'm never gonna own the Vampire Knight characters.

/

/

/

/

She was walking in circles. Literally. She had been doing circles in her gigantic bedroom for an hour or so. Flustered, ashamed, she was torn between two men. One part of her heart was telling her to just wait for her husband to come back home. The other was gnawing at her conscience, eating her mind with worries because she had the bad feeling that he was in danger.

'' _What to do, what to do? Kaname's not here since he went to finish the preparations for the honeymoon. And he has always allowed me to go out when I wanted to since last year, so there shouldn't be a problem if I escape for some hours, no? '',_ She mused, trying to figure out what to do.

But she was doing something she shouldn't for some stupid, selfish reason. She knew Kaname would disapprove or find her extremely childish if he found out. The last thing she needed was for him to think that she was acting like a child, he was already so careful with her. She was 18, goddamnit! She ought to be treated like a woman! But she understood that she wasn't acting her age at all. What she had asked for was so immature, irresponsible.

* * *

_4 HOURS EARLIER_

_Aido was walking in the Kuran manor, going to spend some good earned relaxing time at the giant library situated in one of the multiple rooms of the mansion. He was tired because the hectic day he had before - the sun never put him in the best of the moods – and he had been one of the organizers for Kaname's wedding. It had been a very stressful week, planning a pureblood wedding and honeymoon wasn't something he was actually accustomed to, but with the help of all of Kaname's and Yuuki's noble friends, they had been able to pull it off. Now, he only wished to put his work aside and stay some hours in a peaceful room. He was almost there when he got caught by the arm and was shoved in a nearby room._

_Disoriented, he came face to face with Yuuki. She held a finger before his mouth, making shushing sounds. The young vampiress pushed him farther in the room, looked right and left in the hallway, and closed the door silently. Saying that Aido was confused was an understatement. He was completely lost, wondering why the hell the pureblood girl was being so secretive._

'' _Aido-sempai, please hear me out. I need you to do me a favor'', she pleaded, looking at him with puppy eyes._

'' _Hum, yeah, what would you like, Kuran-sama? '', He said, looking suspiciously at her._

'' _Hey! We agreed to none of that polite thing between us, even after the marriage. Call me Yuuki or Cr- ah right; you can't call me that anymore. Yuuki will do just fine. Or even –hey you! - would be better than –sama. '', She rambled on, playing nervously with her fingers._

'' _Okay, I'll call you Yuuki if that can make you explain what you want from me.'' he said, starting to get annoyed at her. _

'' _I know it may sounds very stupid but…could you please go buy me sweets? '', She said in a tiny, ashamed voice. _

_Aido's mouth hung out, not believing what she had just said. She wanted SWEETS! She was doing all that drama for candies, cakes and whatnot? _

'' _Why do you want SWEETS! It's the day after your marriage to Kaname-sama and what you want are sweets! All that drama for-''_

_Aido was cut off in his tirade by Yuuki's finger shoved on his lips, pressing hard to keep him from alerting the whole mansion of her secret plan._

'' _Hush! Stop yelling, it's a secret!'' she whispered hurriedly, '' I woke up this morning with this intense craving for the pastries made at the Caroso Doro. I know it sounds silly, that's why I didn't ask Kaname for this. And if I go out, Kaname's wolf avatars and bats are going to notice me as soon as I step out of the manor. He'd think I'm so lame for wanting to eat those, but really, really want to eat some. It's been two years since I last tasted their delicious cupcakes. I long so much for their taste!''_

_She flashed her eyelashes at him, trying desperately to convince him of the urgency of the situation._

_Aido was still looking at her with round eyes like she was some kind of weirdo. She probably looked like one since she was feeling like one too. Putting her hands on his shoulders, she shook him, trying to wake him of his stupor._

'' _Please, sempai! Kaname's not here all day long, he's at work trying to deal with all the workload so we can have two weeks for ourselves free of obligations. If you go now, you can be back by the end of the afternoon and he'll never know about it. It's just sweets, they can't do me anything bad.'' She added, knowing he was torn between his loyalty to Kaname and his friendship with her._

_Aido's mouth finally moved and he said: '' You really want me to do that?''_

_Yuuki nodded vigorously, her long chestnut-colored hair doing flips as she did so. '' You're the only one I can trust for that. ''_

_Aido sighed, rolling his eyes. Silly girl, she could have ordered it and there would be no chances of refusal. He would have done so since she was a pureblood but she never used her power on him or her friends. She was so __**human…**_

'' _Okay, I'll go. Just give me the address; I'll try to get as much as possible since you're a gluttonous girl. I'll be back as soon as possible, I don't want to waste my time and be caught by Kaname-sama. If he catches me, I bet I'll be the only one punished and I'll have to count all the green peas in the pantry. And don't you get fat with all that sugar, I'm your caretaker so I have to watch for your health too'', he said, exasperated. _

'' _Great!'' she said happily, briefly hugging him before letting go, '' You're a life savior, Aido-sempai! I knew I could trust you with that! Just be careful of the maids, they would babble about it- and Kaname would soon hear it from them- and be fast. Here, take that paper, I wrote the address and what type of pastries I want.'' She pulled out a piece of paper from a pocket in her dress and handed it to him._

'' _What? You already knew I was going to accept?'' he questioned, looking baffled._

''_Well, I knew you wouldn't say no if I made my puppy eyes'', she chuckled._

'' _Whatever, I'm not that predictable.'' he replied with mock annoyance, '' I hope for you that it's not some devious plan to get me punished.''_

_He snatched the piece of paper, his eyes going wide as he saw the list of all she wanted him to bring back._

'' _Where are you going to hide all that stuff?'' he asked, bewildered._

'' _I'll eat what I can before Kaname gets here and hid the rest under my bed.'' she answered with a straight face._

_She was so weird. The girl's antics never ceased to amaze Aido. She acted somewhat like Chairman Cross._

'' _Okay. I'll buy them and bring them to you, but whatever happens after, it's not my problem. If you get caught by Kaname-sama afterward, don't put me in trouble too.'' he added before leaving her._

_Great. Now she just had to wait for his return. If everything worked well, he would be back early and she would have time to eat a part of it and finally have a taste of the sweets. She was craving for sweets, but mostly to get back a bit of her past life as a human. She was feeling nostalgic and longed for normalcy. She found out that simple, realizable way to relive some precious memories of a time she missed._

_She sat down on her bed, pulled her knees up and warped her arms around them. Putting her head on her knees, she sighed._

_Still 4 hours to go…_

* * *

BACK TO THE PRESENT

So she'd waited nervously for the past 4 hours, wondering if it had been such a good idea. When she had planned it this morning, it looked flawless and there were near zero chances of failure. Kaname wouldn't be back before supper and Aido was someone very reliable.

''_So why isn't he back already? It shouldn't have taken more than 3 hours but he's an hour late! Maybe he stopped by to flirt with some girls!''_ she thought, passing from worry to instant anger.

Yuuki was fuming but she knew it was unlikely since he was doing something forbidden by his master, he was already too aware of what kind of trouble he'd be in if he didn't hurry.

''_Unless…unless he got kidnapped! Or attacked by some wandering level E! What if I threw him into certain death or if he encountered some hunters along the way? No, surely, they didn't have the right to arrest him, did they?'' _she started panicking slightly and her worries jumped up a notch when she realized something, _'' Ack! And I sent him into a hunter city, he's sure to be instantly noticed by the Hunter Association! Even if they don't arrest him, they might report his suspicious presence to Kaname and all my discretion will have been for nothing!''_

She twiddled with her dress, weighting the good and the bad for her next action. She either stayed home and waited hopefully to see Aido or getting punished by Kaname as she explained him the troublesome situation she had created and prepare herself to be treated like some kid sister for a while or…

'' …_I'm going to fetch Aido myself! Yeah, I just have to be extremely careful so as not to bring on me Kaname's attention and escape furtively by the backdoor. It's going to be a pain in the ass, but I'm really worried about Aido, I can't stand in this room while there are chances that he's in trouble''_, she decided, finally finding a solution to her dilemma. She had a really bad feeling about Aido, a bit like when she had felt her uncle's presence back at the Academy. The omen was less strong, but she still felt like she would regret it forever if she stayed inside the manor.

'' _Now I just have to find a way out…''_ she wondered, looking in her head at the possibilities of evasion.

She looked around the room, noticing the few personal objects and the maid dresses on a rack. It was probably one of the maids' private rooms and she wondered if she could maybe pass as one of them to eclipse out of the mansion. At this moment, the servants were rushing like busy bees, preparing everything for their masters' honeymoon, trimming the gigantic courtyard, tidying the mansion after the reception they had the day before and moving in and out of the propriety.

''_That's it! I just have to put on a maid uniform and leave unnoticed in the crowd of servants!'' _she thought, happy with herself.

Gathering shoes, dress and apron, she took everything inside the maid's bathroom and changed rapidly, throwing the beautiful Victorian dress in the back of a wardrobe. She would have to come back later to put it in her own room before the maid found it.

She looked at herself again and her mood went down again, disappointed with the result. She looked like her normal pureblood self, still graceful and elegant. Her heart-shaped face, fair skin and long, flowing brown hair gave her away easily. It was not enough.

Discretely, she opened the door to the hallway, looked around just in case there was some passerby and quickly went out of the room. She scurried down the hallway before spotting what she was looking for.

'' _A potted plant! Exactly what I needed!''_

She took the big orchid plant solidly rooted in some dirt-filled vase and carried it easily back to the room even though it was a very heavy metal one. Putting on some white, elbow-length gloves with frills that the maids usually wore, she plunged her hands in the dirt, dirtying the white fabric and whipping her hands on the white apron. She also applied some in her face, darkening her skin with the earth.

Looking back at the mirror, she studied her image. She was looking more like a maid that had passed her whole day gardening to make the propriety perfect for the newlyweds.

''_There's still one thing bothering me though…''_

Going back into the bathroom, she opened a drawer and searched through the hairbrushes, bows and hairpins before taking out a pair of scissors.

The pureblooded girl held the scissors before her face, staring at it intently. She was decided to do whatever needed to get out unnoticed. She was sure Kaname wouldn't appreciate the change much since he was particularly fond of her hair, but hair can grow back after some time. Aido's head couldn't do the same. Maybe she could explain that she needed some change of haircut because of the wedding and the honeymoon, to have an element of novelty to fit with her new status of married woman.

Evaluating the length in the bathroom's mirror, she took hold of one strand of her and cut it off. The strand gracefully fell off on the ceramic floor and was soon followed by more of them. Each time she cut a part of her hair, she felt more and more ashamed. Kaname has always told her that she looked exactly like her mom with long hair and that he found her so beautiful that way. Like a real princess. **His princess.**He always used sweet words when describing her, praising everything she did and chuckling gently at her when she felt embarrassed. Yuuki didn't feel worthy of the attention; she has always been an average girl back when she was human. She had been small, tomboyish and certainly not graceful. She had been cute, nothing less, nothing more. Now, with this new pureblood body, she felt awkward because she still saw herself as the ordinary human girl. She felt like she couldn't hope to compare with her brother, he had always been the untouchable star, so far yet so shiny.

The last strand of long hair fell off. She had tried to mimic her old haircut from her memories and she had done a good job with it. Some strands were standing out; a bit too short or too long, but she didn't have time. Her shoulder-length hair made her feel more tomboyish than ever in the past 2 years. She was almost exactly the same as her human self; she hadn't grown much and certainly didn't fill out more _down there_. She glanced down.

''_Yup, no changes in this area. Why can't the vampire hormones do the same as with my hair and make them grow a bit more? ''_, She wondered, disappointed.

She did look a bit more mature and lady-like in her posture and actions, but that was it. And that sudden desire for sweets was proof that she hadn't matured much in her mind.

Snapping out of her contemplation, she cleaned the fallen hair, flushed it all down the toilet and looked around the room for more casual clothing. Finding a t-shirt and a pair of shorts, she put it in a bag along with a pair of sneakers that seemed to fit her. She took the potted plant in her hands and squeezed the bag in between the vase and her stomach, holding it here and hiding it from view. Holding the pot in her arms, she placed it so the orchids and the leaves hid most of her face.

She went out, carrying the vase down the stairs, passing by some hurried vampire servants. She carefully lowered her vampire aura as much as possible, trying to keep it at an average level. She was glad to note that they were all too busy to pay attention to her. She took the backyard's direction, passing through the balcony, down the steps and on the grass, finally outside the walls of the manor. She kept speed walking, blending in with the other workers who swiped past her, carrying plants and gardening tools in and out of the manor. She looked just like another maid carrying a vegetal to plant somewhere on the propriety. She passed through it all, never stopping or slowing down, conscious that a single suspicious glance at her direction and her cover would be blown.

She walked past the busy area and zigzagged through the labyrinth of small trees and shrubs formed in the backyard. Already, the buzzing noise of the servants was toned out, leaving only a small humming noise and the sounds of the woods surrounding the propriety.

She had made it. The wolf and bat creatures probably thought she was only a servant of the Kuran household and didn't pay attention to her.

She used her extremely acute senses, her hearing picking up a small, rushing sound. She followed it and came upon a small stream, the clear water glistening in the daylight. She remembered an old hunter trick: ''If_ you want your enemies to lose your trace, cross a water stream and they will lose your scent. Just remember to keep some spare clothes with you if you don't want to freeze or catch a cold. It would be just like you to plunge into the water and develop a fever. You've always had a weak constitution against the cold.''_ She sighed, remembering at the same time the voice of the silver-haired teen as he explained it to her. She had been nagging him about his past, wanting to know how was his hunter training back when he learned under Yagari's wing. But he didn't divulge much, only basics because the rest was meant only for hunter ears, not for '' curious little girl's ears''.

She felt a small pinch in her heart, remembering the low chuckle following the piece of advice as she had pounded her tiny fists against his shoulder for mocking her like that. It had been so long since she had last heard it.

She threw her bag on the other side of the stream, hid the potted plant in a nearby bush for when she would come back and started to undress. She hid the maid uniform in the same bush and camouflaged it by arranging the leaves around it. The earthy scent would mask most of her odor and if a vampire did pass this way, he would simply assume that she had strolled in the nearby area.

Completely naked, she jumped in the water. The water was cool and refreshing, the perfect temperature for a sunny day. The stream wasn't too deep or too shallow. She could almost touch the bottom with the tip of her feet. She swam easily to the other side and hoisted herself once she had crossed it.

She had nothing to dry herself so she proceeded to dress up anyway. The clothes were actually too big for her but they stuck to her wet skin, drawing dark patches on them. At least, she didn't wear white. She had taken a dark green t-shirt and beige cargo shorts. She looked like a wet boyish girl who had taken a dip in a lake all dressed up but she didn't mind. The sun was still up and she would soon dry on the way to the town. Putting on the sneakers, she was glad to see that they fit her pretty well. She put the plastic bag in one of the shorts' front pocket and took off with vampire speed.

Her short hair flying as she ran at full speed, Yuuki dodged trees and rocks, focusing her mind on one thing.

'' _I have to find him! I have a really bad feeling about this!''_

_/_

_/_

_/_

_/_

_Author's note: I reread my past chapters and I noticed that my vocabulary is getting poorer and poorer as I write new chapters. I'm very sorry gals, I'll try to ameliorate it for the next chapters._

_Please, don't hate Yuuki because she acts silly! Actually, that's me acting silly because I didn't have an idea of how to get her past her well guarded fortress. And the sweets obsession thingie...well, you've never had that strong desire for something in particular, at a certain moment in your life? Like you MUST have something RIGHT NOW? Truth to be told, what I really want right now is to go to sleep. So, see you next time guys and don't forget to review, I'd like to know what you thought about Yuuki. Did I depict her well or was she acting out of character (she was certainly out of her vampire personality) ?_


	6. The smell of death

21:19 Small chapter this time since I updated rapidly. I hope it is still okay nonetheless. I've been working on my vocabulary, but there's a limit to the number of synonyms I can use for ''blood''. Oh god, I love Aido and Kaito together, they just strike me as a good replacement for Zero and Aido's bickering. XD They're good at loosening the tension. Ah mmh, I hope I didn't make Yuuki act too ooc-ly again, I don't know since I didn't have reviews about chapter 5.

Disclaimer: I'll never ever own Vampire Knight characters. *is sad*

/

/

/

It was the middle of the afternoon when Yuuki arrived at the outskirts of the hunter town. She had slowed down a bit when the town had come in view, not wanting to draw attention on her now that she was in the city. Walking casually down the streets, she headed toward the establishment of the _Caroso Doro_ situated at the heart of the town. She felt nostalgic at the sight of the streets and shops she used to pass by when she was on an errand for the Headmaster. Things hadn't changed in the past two years, she had been the one to change.

In her contemplation, she almost ran into some child playing on the sidewalk with a ball. The small boy was maybe 10 or 11 and he stopped running around when he apperceived her. Clutching his toy, he looked at her warily. He took a step back and swiftly disappeared in his home.

Yuuki didn't move. She had understood that the child was a hunter kid, he had perceived her vampire aura. She was keeping it lowered, like a level D's aura, but it was still enough that the hunters that passed by shoot her glances and deliberately walked on the other side of the streets. She felt like she had leper or some other kind of contagious illness. They knew her true nature and hated her for what she was. It was in this kind of beliefs that every hunter child grew up and that made her think of another vampire hunter for whom that belief was firmly ingrained.

She continued on walking, ignoring the glances and the looks she was given. She was definitively not welcome.

She was glad to reach the _Caroso d'oro_; she was very uncomfortable under the attention she drew by just walking in the hunter city. That part of the town was more for normal civilians, unrelated to the Hunter Association. She entered the café, but she automatically knew that Aido wasn't there anymore. She could smell his scent in the restaurant and all over two waitresses who where cleaning the tables- she would have a talk with him later about that- but he was nowhere to be seen. She estimated that he had been here an hour and an half ago. She walked to one of the girl on whom she smelled the flagrance of lavender that the noble vampire always had on him.

She tapped delicately her shoulder. The brown haired girl, turned around, startled. '' Oh! I'm so sorry you surprised me. I really didn't hear you coming. What can I do for you, miss?'' She said, putting her hand over her chest in a gesture of surprise.

Yuuki smiled gently and asked: '' Do you know of a blond young man who came to order a really big amount of sweets? You see, I'm looking for him because he might not have ordered all that was on the list I gave him so I wanted to ask him.''

'' Of course, I remember that charming young man. I think his name was Aido-kun, right? He was there not so long ago and we discussed a bit before he left. '' She answered, blushing a bit when she remembered the short encounter.

'' Do you know where he went?'' Yuuki inquired, hoping to find some lead to the blond vampire.

'' Well, I don't really know'', she played with her hair, turning one of the strands around her finger, '' We were talking when those handsome guys came up and took him away. I think they were friends because Aido-kun recognized them.''

Yuuki's eyes went wide with surprise. _"I hope it wasn't someone acquainted to Kaname! Or Kaname himself! We'd be in so much trouble. Unless they were hunters who arrested him.''_

'' Do you remember how those friends looked like?'' she asked worriedly.

The worker glanced up, thinking: '' Well, one of them had tousled, dirty blond hair, was tall and looked really cute, in a mischievous way. As for the other, mmh, I didn't get a good look at him because he was taking Aido-kun away to talk with him, probably.''

Yuuki searched through her memory for some image of a dirty-blond guy, but it didn't ring a bell. Disappointed, she was ready to leave -thinking that it was all the information she was able gather here- when she was caught by the arm.

'' Oh wait miss! I remembered something about the other guy. At first, I thought he was an old man because of the color of his hair, but I think his hair was actually silver. It was my first time seeing such an exotic color.'' She added, happy that she'd been able to remember.

Yuuki froze in place, completely petrified by that piece of information. She felt the colors wash of her face _'' Zero had captured Aido-sempai! I'm so screwed! How am I going to face him and take back Aido-sempai? And why did he take him away, is he going to imprison him? ''_ Yuuki was trying to see the possibilities of action of the vampire hunter, but there were too much and she didn't know his motive. Unless it was all because of his hate for vampires. He may have killed the aristocrat just because he was Kaname's loyal follower.

'' Oi miss, are you alright? You don't seem so well, do you want me to call someone?'' Asked the waitress, looking worriedly at Yuuki's blanched face.

Yuuki snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of the girl's queries. '' Which way did they go? '' She demanded hurriedly. She had to be quick or she wouldn't see the blond noble's cocky face ever again.

'' Well, they went up north, but-'' the employee was cut off when the small brunette swirled around, hurrying after the lead she had found.

She later found out a bill of yens left on the table she was cleaning, left by the strange girl.

* * *

Yuuki walked hurriedly in the direction given by the waitress. Stopping at a crossroads, she hummed the air, looking for the lavender scent. This time, not only did she smell the flower scent, but she also caught a flagrance of cinnamon and another nostalgic smell…

…lilacs.

So it was true. He had taken Aido with the help of that ash-haired hunter and led him farther away from the civilization, into more secluded area. Yuuki remembered those kind of streets, where nobody had been able to hear her scream when that level E had attacked her two years ago. The area was poor and old and the streets felt dark even thought it was the middle of the afternoon.

But this time, she wasn't weak and naïve, she had the Artemis rod strapped to her thigh under her cargo shorts and she was a pureblood. If a level E ever tried to drink her blood, he would have the surprise of his life.

Passing down a street, she saw something very unusual. There was some deep crater imprinted in a wall, as if some truck had slammed into it. She approached the fallen debris and noticed the small heaps of dust formed around the crater. _''Not dust''_, she thought, _'' these are ashes. Vampire remains. There had been a fight here, but there are too much to be Aido's ashes.''_

She was glad to notice that it wasn't Aido's, thought she did smell the noble's blood in the air. Zero's and his fellow hunter's smells weren't present. _'' He had been fighting other vampires? There is no way that it was Zero's plan to kill Aido with the help of the vampires, so that means there is another enemy.''_

She took a last a look at the cracked wall, wondering what could have caused such damage. Level E's were physically more strong than the other vampires, so she suspected that those were blood-crazy vampires that perished in that alley.

She continued her way to the north, following Aido's trail. She didn't go far to find out what had actually happened. She came upon the odor before she actually saw the scene, a metallic stench that hit her like a punch in the stomach.

**Blood.**_ Lots of it._

And she recognized it, the sweet, sweet odor of lilacs and orchids…

She turned a corner and saw it. _Everywhere._

The alley's stoned floor was painted in red. There were red pools shining in the daylight, some more blood dripping on the bricks of a wall…

It was like some morbid painting, blood and ashes mixed together under the blue summer sky.

Yuuki felt like puking. She kneeled down, using a hand to steady herself against a nearby wall. Flashes of past memories, of times when she had vision of blood and horror passed through her mind. It was exactly the same, all over again. She was alone and surrounded by blood.

Her senses were dizzying her and she felt her teeth lengthening inside her mouth. Hunger was slowly, but surely creeping up in her body, her throat felt parched and dry. Her eyes were flashing crimson and she knew that her vampire side was struggling not to go and lap at one of the red lake staining the street. But she would never, ever do that. It was revolting her mind that she had even thought about doing it.

The pungent smell was bringing alive a flame of thirst that she thought had died a year ago. She was craving for it but the reality was harsher than her bloody desire. The blood was **his**. It was dying the street with blackening scarlet liquid. It was **his life source** that was coloring the beige bricks into crimson stones.

She felt tears creeping up in her eyes, but she closed them rapidly, trying to keep the sadness inside.

'' _What happened? It can't be…it can't be that Zero is dead!''_

She couldn't believe it, she didn't want to, but there was too much blood for him to be still alive. Tremors ran through her body as comprehension dawned on her.

Tears broke from inside her eyelids and slidded down her cheeks - she made no attempt to wipe them. A small cry, like a wounded animal, went past her lips. '' No, no, you can't be dead! Not when I s-still had things to say to you'', she cried in sorrow, feeling her heart being pierced over and over with guilt, lost love and longing, '' I-I don't care if it's just to kill me, but come back! Zero…'' She was breaking down, overwhelmed by the suffering wracking her mind and heart.

Tendrils of darkness were warping her heart, she felt a heavy weight pressing further and further down her throat and suppressing her breath. Kaname was her sun, her warmth, but she had just lost her moon. It had been eclipsed for two years now, but it would never bask her in the reassuring, ever-present soothing glow. All that was left was the ugly, crimson scene printed in the back of her eyelids.

She wept and hit the ground like a petulant child, but Yuuki really felt like the world would stop right here and right now. Already, she was wondering why life was still going as normal when it hit her.

'' _Wait, why isn't there any of Zero's remains? Sure, there are ashes everywhere, but there aren't any clothes left. And Bloody Rose, his trusted gun, isn't there too…So maybe he's still alive! ''_

She wanted to scream in relief. He was probably alive, not dead! Aido and that other hunter were nowhere to be seen, so maybe they have taken Zero to a safer place. She stood up, a bit wobbly from her sudden heartbreak. If her guess was wrong, then she felt like her heart would truly shatter into billions of little pieces. Taking hesitant steps toward the slaughter scene, she neared the biggest pool of blood and noticed instantly a trail of scarlet drops continuing further ahead, away from the alley.

Hope was bubbling inside her. She hadn't lost him. Not yet. And she would do everything to keep him alive, no matter what. She left the cursed grounds hurriedly, knowing that she didn't have much time left to save him.

* * *

Aido was in a very bad mood. Being out in the middle of a sunny afternoon was one of the reasons. Holding a very dying, bloodied vampire hunter was probably the other.

His clothes were damp with the silver-haired hunter delicious-smelling blood and he had to take care of a very, unconsciously heavy body. The almost-dead boy was already taller than him, but now he was not even able to stay upright. But Aido was forced to understand that when you have a hole the size of a fist in your body, you had the right to black out for a while.

But it didn't stop him of voicing out his annoyance at the situation.

'' Hurry, he's oozing blood from the hole all over me. Ugh, it's a very smelly and disgustingly warm feeling to be wet with blood, for your information.''

'' Stop complaining, vampire! I'm the one who's doing all the hard work of undoing all the anti-vampire runes that paranoid boss of mine placed in his apartment.'' Kaito replied from inside the room, annoyed. He was on all fours, wiping away with a rag the marks drawn on the wooden floor with what appeared to be…''-hey? Is that chicken blood! God, that's disgusting, he used old, complicated spells to keep you lots away from his room. It's just making it harder to erase.''

'' Yeah, but I'm sick of standing outside holding a fountain gushing with red water. And why the hell is that chicken blood, I thought you guys were vampire killers, not voodoo sect members.'' Aido added, completely horrified with the chicken blood used against vampires. How rude was that? Vampires were noble creatures, not brain-eating zombies!

They were bickering and getting on each other's nerves, but it was more of a way to stress out than real hate. Neither really believed that the silver-haired teen would make it, but they didn't have a choice. It was that or leaving him to bleed to death without even trying. And both men were too stubborn to give up from the start.

A small electric wave cracked loudly on the doorframe. White sparks shot out from the door, nearly hitting Aido and Zero.

'' You can go in now, Blondie. I think I deactivated the runes effectively so you probably won't be electrocuted as you enter.'' Kaito finally said, getting up from the floor and throwing the bloodied rag he had used to scrub the floor into a wastebasket.

'' You ''think''? Wow, I'm really reassured now that I won't be grilled like a bird on a high-tension line. You know what, I think you're pissing me off even more than Kiryuu's moodiness, and that's something. I think even Ruka could learn a trick or two from you.''

Half-holding, half-dragging the hunter, Aido went through the door with a passed-out body in his arms. He was glad to see that he had made it into one piece into the apartment and that he didn't find himself with a new curly haircut smelling slightly of smoke.

Grunting, he dragged the unconscious man to the bed and hoisted him on it. The bed was unmade and as soon as Zero was propped on it, the blood tainted the white sheets into a scarlet hue.

Aido checked Zero's pulse on his wrist, hopping that his heart was still beating. _'' Come on, don't tell me I dragged you all the way from over there just so you could die in your bed!''_ he thought as he searched for it.

He was a bit relieved to sense the weak pulse beating in his arteries. He was not dead yet. Maybe if he…'' Do you think that if he drank our blood, he'd heal enough to survive this? '' He asked the hunter.

He was almost okay with the idea, if it would make Yuuki-sama happy and keep her from mourning her adopted brother. The problem was the other hunter. That ''Kaito'' guy hated vampire, that much was sure, and a hunter giving his blood to a vampire was taboo. It was forbidden and not well seen by their society.

'' I won't give my blood to a vampire'', Kaito spat.

Aido was bewildered. He had thought that the ash-haired hunter was some kind of friend for Kiryuu, but he would let him bleed to death just because of his hatred for vampires? The aristocrat was disgusted; hunters were really heartless killers.

''…Anyway, he'd just drain us dry. It wouldn't be enough, he's been shot with a hunter bullet and he has lost too much blood already. He wouldn't want us to die that way, he's the kind of guy who would refuse the blood even if it could save him and I understand.'' Kaito added walking to stand by the bed, looking at the pained hunter lying in the red sheets.

So he had thought about the possibility. Maybe he wasn't as heartless has he seemed.

'' Our blood isn't powerful enough, only pure blood would do the job, I think. We can't do much but try to clean his wound and stop the blood from flowing.'' Kaito untied the soaked coat around Zero's wound and quickly wiped some blood away with a towel. Aido went to fetch some bandages and ointments in the pharmacy and applied it on the hole. Soon enough, scarlet spots blossomed again on the new bandages, but this time, Aido and Kaito didn't change them. They knew it would be useless.

Kaito pulled out the Bloody Rose from one of his pocket and placed it near Zero's right hand. He felt like the teen would have wanted to die next to his trusted gun, his silver ally. Searching through another of his side pocket, he found his cell phone and dialed a number. He spoke quietly, knowing that it was going to be hard news for Zero's adoptive father and his master.

'' Cross, it's Kaito…you should come at Zero's apartment, we have been attacked and he's in a very bad condition…no, he was shot by the Bloody Rose so he's not healing and he lost too much blood…he's probably not going to survive it…yeah, be quick and bring Shishou.'' He hung up, knowing they would come.

Not turning toward the blond aristocrat he said: '' All we can do now is wait…''

The hunter added sadly for himself: ''_…wait for death to come and take him away…''_

_/_

_/_

_/_

Author's note: That chicken blood thingie was very random lol XD

I really like writing the bickering between Aido and Kaito, it was funny. Ah ... did you think it was ( or is it just my sick, weird mind acting up? )

Don't forget to leave me a review, I really appreciate it if you take the time to comment my story or just stop by to say hi :D


	7. Blood's Melody

14:34

I'm very busy lately, so don't expect quicker updates until 2011. I made this one quite long, I hope that it will please you. Sorry for the typos. Don't be too mad at Zero, pleaaase. One part of me works to make Zero love Yuuki while the other one struggles to keep him in character. He can't really start loving her all of sudden, he still hate her vampire self. Now it seems hate has overpowered this chapter. One could wonder if I'm really writing a Zeki fic with all that angst and hate turning around my favorite couple.

Disclaimer: Do I still have to say that Vampire Knight doesn't belong to me?

/

/

/

Zero's apartment was simple and unnoticeable between all the others in that part of the town. It was just a two-storey concrete block, like all the other buildings around it. Nothing to distinguish it from the others, not a hint pointing toward the fact that the current Hunter Association president lived in it. The last predecessor used to live in fast, taking pleasure in amassing beautiful works of art and collecting relics from all over the world. He had lived in a special part of the Association's Headquarters, reserved to the President. This way, he could be near his work place and be able to survey his subordinates. It was much more accommodating than Zero's current living place, but the new hunter president had refused to live there.

Zero had seen the way the other hunters had looked at him when they had offered him the special apartment. They didn't like that. They didn't want a vampire to live in the middle of the Headquarters, to offer this special treatment to a _leech_. Zero had felt the same way. He didn't want to live there; it made him think of the royal suit offered to Kaname Kuran back at the Academy. He didn't want to have anything in common with the bastard. Anyway, he chose to leave the Academy because he wanted to be alone. The Headquarters were always buzzing with hunters coming in and out at ungodly hours. You never knew when you had to go hunting vampires or when you had to get new weapons at the armory, so there was no way to isolate himself from all those people working. And at night, the thirst made him too dangerous to stay near humans. He was a threat to the hunters; it would just add more nervousness to the already precautious subordinates if a blood lusting creature roamed the corridors at night.

So he had chosen to stay at the apartment offered by the Chairman. There were no other occupant than himself, it was simple and not too far from the Academy. The Headquarters were a bit farther but he didn't mind much.

Anything was fine, as long as he was left alone…

* * *

Standing outside the apartment stood a young woman, staring wide-eyed at the building. She never knew that the trail of scarlet droplets would lead her to an apartment. Never did she think that Zero actually lived off campus. _But that's not much of a surprise._

Actually, it made a lot of sense that her former partner decided to leave Cross Academy. Too many painful memories lingered there and he was 19 already, what could have stopped him from moving out to some other place? He could have changed of continent and nothing she could have done would have stopped him from vanishing from her life. The only link remaining between the two of them was that one promise of death and revenge.

Yuuki tested the lock and the door unlocked easily, squeaking on its hinges as she pushed it open wider. She took a careful step inside the hall, wondering if she was going to be noticed or if some barrier was going to materialize out of nowhere. There was nothing of the sort. Just her, the decrepit walls covered with flimsy beige wallpaper and the empty hallway.

She took another hesitant step. She was scared of what she was going to find in Zero's apartment. Unsure of how to act if he rebelled against her, refused her help and denied to have anything to do with one of her kind.

'' _That's not the problem here. The priority is saving his life, I'll deal with what comes after when his life won't be endangered.''_

Yuuki built up her determination, strengthening it as she approached the only door where she could sense living beings on the other side. _'' I can sense 5 of them, one particularly weak. They are probably Zero, Aido and the other hunter. Then who are the other two?'' _she questioned herself.

Was Zero living with someone else? A friend? Nah, it can't be. He's too of a loner to accept to live with other people. Unless he has a girlfriend!

Yuuki felt her heart clench at that. Brows furrowed, she felt a slight irritation making it's way through her mind, poking and probing ideas that she dared not to think of. What was she experiencing? Jealousy? Probably not, what did she have to be jealous for? She wasn't going to envy the poor girl who had to put up with a stern, cold-blooded vampire hunter. Even when she knew that Zero wasn't just a cold-blooded killer. That he had surprisingly a caring, gentle persona hidden under the mask of a jerk that he had harbored most of the time back at the Academy. But nobody could have known that, could they? She was the only one to know, two years ago. But what if things had changed in that lapse of time? Look at her! She was married for gods' sake!

She opened the door a bit forcefully and-

''YUUUUKIIIIII!''

She was thrown into a savage hug, air squeezed out of her lungs as a tearful chairman embraced her at full force.

''My darling daughter came! It makes daddy so relieved to see you.'' He squealed.

Yuuki tried to pry off the Chairman's arms wrapped around her, gasping for air as she did so. '' Please, Chairman, I can't –haa- breath-agh! ''

She was finally saved from the bear hug when a tall dark-haired man with an eye patch pulled the Chairman away and glared at him.

'' Stop that, you twit. It's not the time for your gleefulness, we need to save him.'' Turning around to face the petite brunette, he directed his unique blue eye at her. '' Hey, little girl, do you think you can do something for my stupid student? ''

The Chairman had sobered up, his face turning serious and worried. He and Yagari had hurried up from Cross Academy when they had received Kaito's call. Cross was worried as hell for his cute son's life and Yagari cared for Zero like a father would. They have watched him grow up from an innocent child to a ravaged soul, not able to do anything to prevent the fall to level E. And now they had watched his life bleeding away for the past 5 minutes with the same feeling of powerlessness.

While they watched with worry and defeat, Kaien had been fervently hoping for someone to come and save his adoptive son's life. He had been aware of what Yuuki's departure had done to the silver-haired young man. The light in the boy's eyes had deteriorated, replaced with something colder. In the end, it was Yuuki's presence that he needed, even on his deathbed.

But she was there; they might have a chance to save him instead of standing on the sidelines, mere spectators of the tragedy unfolding before their very eyes.

Kaien gently took her hand, leading her inside Zero's apartment. She observed the surroundings, a bit disconnected from the reality: room bare of personality, claws marks on the walls, and liquor bottles in a thrash can.

She absorbed all that information, stocking it in her memory but feeling like she was evolving in a dream. A dream she hoped wasn't real. Just a residue of the nostalgia she felt deep inside. She would soon wake up and see her husband by her side, his smooth hand holding hers instead of the calloused hand of the ex-hunter.

She walked nearer to the bed and saw what shattered the fragile illusion she was building in her head. No escape from reality this time. She was trapped the moment her eyes saw what her mind refused to believe.

He was lying motionless on tainted white bed sheets, his breath uneven and shallow. Like a fallen angel, his wings broken and bleeding, a thin sheet of sweat covered his pale fevered skin.

Her hand left the Chairman's as she walked to the bed.

Her eyes skimmed over the body. He was only wearing jeans and part of his torso was bandaged. The area near his heart was crimson red, the flower of death spreading like a disease, tainting the bed sheets and the bandages. Her fingers approached his face and pushed away the long silver bangs stuck to his fevered skin. His eyes were closed to the world, his long lashes brushing on his pale cheeks.

She heard herself ask with an even voice: '' What happened? ''

Kaito-who stood in a corner of the room since the beginning but went unnoticed by the shaken up vampiress- answered her. '' We were attacked by a large group of vampires. He took a first blow to his left lung and was shot by his Bloody Rose at the same place.''

Aido-who stood in the opposite corner- narrowed his eyes at the ash-haired hunter but didn't speak up. He had noticed the deliberately unmentioned part where the man had been the one to shoot his colleague, but decided to only observe in the meantime. The number one priority was keeping an eye on the escaped princess who almost gave him a heart attack when he had sensed her presence behind that door.

Yuuki understood now why his vampire abilities didn't heal him already. His situation was definitely critic. The only way his life could be saved was by making him drink a large amount of blood. And the only blood capable of sustaining him was her blood.

''I'd like you all to leave us alone while I try to save him.'' She spoke up, her gaze never straying away from him.

The Chairman knew what she wanted to do, so he ushered the two hunters and the blond vampire outside the apartment.'' Come on, let my sweet Yuuki handle this matter and let's wait outside for now.'' He closed the door behind him.

Yagari and Kaito protested, not wanting to leave the young hunter with the pureblood vampire. The younger of the two tried to push Cross away, but the Chairman's eyes turned to steel.

''I won't let him alone with one of those bloodsuckers, especially one of her kind! '' Kaito attempted.

Kaien's face turned back to his once feared look of authority and power as a legendary hunter when he replied, authorizing no further protestations of this kind from the hot-blooded hunter. '' I said we leave them alone. Yuuki is under my protection; if you go against her you'll have to take me down first, Kaito. I won't allow you to speak badly of her again.''

Angered, Kaito stalked away and slammed the door hard as he left the building. His steps could be heard as he exited, furious.

Yagari sighed, took out a cigarette before putting it back in his coat when he remembered his apprentice didn't allow him to smoke in the building. He passed a hand in his black tousled hair in a gesture of frustration. '' I'll go and try to reason him. I guess you're right, it's not like things can be worse than now. But I shouldn't say that, uh? God takes that as a personal challenge. I hope the kiddo will be alright, I don't want to lose him like for Suzume, Naoko and Ichiru.''

The door closed behind him as he also left the place.

Kaien Cross stood in the corridor with Aido, not knowing what to do now. He didn't want to leave his children in the apartment alone, so he slid against the wall, next to the door and sat on the wooden floor. Aido, arms crossed, imitated him and sat on the other side. If the silver-haired hunter ever dared to take too much of Yuuki's blood, he wouldn't go easy on him. He huffed, scandalized at the mistress's bold act. He was damned if his master ever learnt that his wife had made an escapade and was actually going to donate some blood to his rival. He was deeply absorbed in thoughts when he felt someone observing him.

The Chairman's sharp gaze connected with the blue-eyed vampire.

''So, Aido-kun, what exactly happened? And don't bother to hide anything from me, I know Kaito is hiding something.'' asked Cross.

Aido sweat dropped at the sudden change of attitude of the usually cheery man, and started telling the whole story to the ex-hunter.

* * *

At first, there was silence.

Yuuki knew what she had to do, but the consequences of her next act scared her. What she was about to do would strengthen the unbreakable bond between her and her adoptive brother and that was something she was afraid of. Part of her heart already hungered for his blood, what would happen if he took her blood again?

'' _I know because your blood tasted like it.'' _she remembered him saying, back when she was still human. What would he see this time?

''Let's start one step at a time.'' She told herself.

Unwrapping the soaked bandages, she uncovered the seeping wound. Her eyes widened with horror when she realized the size of the hole buried in his chest. It was the source of all the pools of blood she had seen back in the streets. The highest priority was closing the wound.

Kneeling next to the bed, she bent her head and touched with her lips a part of the wound. Her magical healing abilities formed a small glowing ball of light, the same color as Kaname's that time her grazed elbow when she had been attacked by a level E. The skin started to close up where she had touched it. She applied a multitude of butterfly kisses on the wound, blushing as she did so. She hoped that Zero was too out of it to remember it when he would wake up.

It worked. The external damages were healed and blood had stopped spilling out of the hole. But it was still torn up inside and he needed blood.

Yuuki unconsciously licked her tainted lips. Blood lust made her eyes flash red. Never had she tasted his blood before, it was a first. He always had been the one to hunger for her blood, now she felt the same for him. Not trusting herself with this new-found temptation, she wiped the blood on his chest with a humid towel.

Holding up her wrist, she drew a red line with a sharpened, elongated nail, cutting her main artery. The young pureblood winced a bit at the pain. She put the wound on Zero's lips, hoping that his survival instincts would take over.

No movement. Already, her wound was closing with her vampire healing ability. Not abandoning, she cut her skin again and with one hand, pried his mouth open and shoved the wrist in his mouth. Again, nothing happened. He was too weak to even bite in her wrist and draw blood. Too near to Death's door to even fight for life.

Frustrated, she knew there was only one option left. The same used by her brother to awaken her from her slumber to her true vampire nature. She would have liked to avoid it as much as possible; it would only go against her new determination to close her heart to the silver-haired hunter. But she knew deep down that it was impossible to ignore what already linked them to one another.

She bit down on her healing wrist, drawing in her mouth as much blood as possible. She climbed on the bed, her light body positioning itself next to him as she lifted his head in a careful movement.

She slowly closed her eyes and met him in a kiss.

A infinity of thoughts crossed her mind at that moment, but they were all eclipsed by the feeling surging from deep within, the kindness she had shown for him transforming into something unknown. It wasn't warm like kindness; it was something more vivid, like comparing a small glowing candle with the flash of a lightning. It was something she had experimented once, when she and Zero had parted ways.

She abandoned herself to the love she felt for him, holding him closer to her as she passed on the blood through their lips. It had to work, or she didn't know what she could do to save him.

She sensed movements from him, finally. His soft lips moved in unison against hers as he tried to swallow the pure blood. His tongue searched for a hint of the forbidden liquid, eager to taste more. He broke the kiss when he couldn't find any.

Yuuki stared with her cinnamon eyes at his red orbs glowing with bloodlust. She couldn't recognize him in that gaze, what was before her was his savage side. Zero had left place to his vampire counterpart, called back from the Doors of Death by the irresistible call of blood.

Pushing himself up in a sitting position, one of his hands took hold of her shortened hair, bending her head backward for a better access to her neck. The other circled her small waist, holding her possessively to him.

She shivered when he traced her pale column with his tongue, searching for the biggest artery. She let a small whimper when he bit down hard, her nerves alight with pain at the strong hold he had on her neck. He sucked the blood and swallowed it in big gulps; finally able to quench a need he had felt for the past years. He detached himself from the side of her neck, leaving two red holes that were already healing. Yuuki held him in her arms, playing with the silky hair strands in the back of his neck. It was like a replay of the first time she had given her blood willingly to him, in the bathroom.

Light headed, Yuuki watched what came next like a blurry dream, registering with difficulty when she was suddenly down on the bed, Zero atop of her on all fours. She was able to utter a small ''No…'' before he bit again, this time on the other side of her neck. It brought her more pain as he bit again and again in the tender flesh. Tears crept up in her eyes at his rough act. He was crushing her down with his weight, his hands pinned her slander wrists above her head as he held her in that position. Growls came out from deep inside him, vibrating against her ears.

''_Beasts…in human form…''_

Visions flashed through his hazy mind, but he was too taken over by blood lust to fully understand them. He briefly saw flashes of her memories.

'' _I'm scared they will eat me but…I'm a monster too''_

''_I love you Kaname, the man of my every dream…''_

This time, her thoughts registered in his unfocused mind. It was the night of her wedding and she was sleeping next to-

'' _No, no, you can't be dead! Not when I s-still had things to say to you. I-I don't care if it's just to kill me, but come back! Zero…''_

He saw memories of her collapsing to the ground, crying her heart out in a blood-drenched alley…

Finally, he seemed to regain his senses. He backed away quickly, his eyes looking troubled by what he discovered lying in his bed. Her short hair in disarray, small tears running down the side of her eyes, blood staining her neck on both side and wearing her boyish clothes, she looked exactly like her old self. Exactly like in the nightmares he had made so often, of her dying because of his vampire self taking over as he fell to level E.

''Yuuki…'' The truth of what he had just done dawned on him.

''YUUKI! What are you doing here!'' He shouted, his eyes sparking with flickers of worry, anger and horror.

He was trembling in disgust, despising the greed that had taken control of his body seconds ago. He had lost control _again._ He, who had sworn in his heart to never take her blood again, had fallen again for the same trap. Her blood had sung for him again- a sweet, remorseful melody, symphony of old days and nostalgia.

Unaware of the emotions passing through him at the speed of light, she answered in a weak voice: '' Because I had to save you. You were dying because of that huge wound so I made you drink my blood…forcefully. I had to, otherwise-''

He cut her off, overtaken by the avalanche of emotion. ''OTHERWISE WHAT! What could have happened that would bother _her Highness_ and suddenly make _her _feel like _donating_ her blood to her enemy. Was it pity? Did you think pity was a reason valid enough to force me to take you blood once again without my assent? ''

Coughing blood, he had to stop screaming at the top of his lungs, not completely healed up in the inside. It had taken him 2 whole years to try and forget about his love for her, for his desire to drink from her neck. But she broke that resolve in a matter of a few seconds. How could she have done that to him?

Yuuki was shocked, silently crying as she stared at the man whom she had just saved. She had straightened up a bit to a sitting position but had stopped moving altogether when he had started screaming at her. It was not true, all of this! She didn't pity him; she did it to save his life. She wasn't looking for thanks or gratitude from him, but she certainly didn't think she'd be yelled at for what she did.

Zero glared at her, wiping the blood on the corner of his mouth. '' If it was to save my life, then what goal does it serve? You could have let me die, and you would have one less enemy coming after you and your brother.''

Her voice was struggling to come out, her throat seemingly blocked by a ball consisting of a melting pot of heavy emotions. '' You can't die…''

She added, with more confidence:'' I can't allow you to die, because you have a promise to fulfill. You vowed that day to kill me while I had to run away from you. I'll play my part well, so you can't die yet.''

The silver-haired man didn't reply, focusing his gaze on the bed instead of her face.

She lifted one hand, hoping to be able to hold his hand, to make him feel like she was here for him now…

He brushed her hand off violently in an instinctive gesture of repulsion. He still couldn't deal well with purebloods.

''Zero, can't we just leave the past behind and start anew? Maybe if-'' She tried before he she was met with the barrel of the Bloody Rose, pointing at her head.

When his eyes met hers again, this time they were flashing with pain and hurt.

''Play? So it was just another of your games…'' he whispered, '' Did you hope to get yourself another chess piece by making me drink your sinful blood? Were all those loyal followers and your pureblood lover not enough? You had to enslave me as well to make the game last longer…Okay; I'll play this little game too. Why don't you start running, now?''

He clicked the gun's security off. This time he was serious and Yuuki realized she had to get out, fast.

She sensed the murderous aura coming out of him, the cold determination of the hunter wiping away any feeling in his icy amethyst orbs. She couldn't look in those eyes without feeling small silver knives piercing her heart and freezing her soul.

She stood up- a bit wobbly in her weakened state- and escaped through the broken window. She never glanced back.

Running in desperation, she soon found herself out of breath. _''Why does it hurt so much, even though I was determined to shut my heart to him? Was I really that mean? Can't Zero see that I'm still the same inside; I never wished to be born that way. I'm such an idiot for thinking that he had maybe forgiven me.''_

_

* * *

_

Tears continued to stream down her cheeks as she found herself somewhere in an abandoned part of the town. She was glad to be alone; she didn't feel the strength to face Aido, the Chairman, Kaname or anybody for that matter.

''My my, look what we have here…One lonely, defenseless pureblood princess.''

She turned around at the sound of the child-like voice. A small figure draped in a black hood walked to her. His face was partially hidden so she couldn't identify him.

'' Who are you?'' She asked, wary of the powerful aura she could sense coming from the child. The vampiress made an easy prey, weakened as she was.

''Don't you think he's being unfair to you? After all you've done for him; disobeying to your husband- cheating on him even-, breaking a taboo and allowing him to treat you like you were equals. You could have ordered him to be your vassal and he wouldn't have been able to even utter one word of protestation if you had used your vampire power, yet you didn't. You could have made him love you with a simple request.'' The boy's amused voice rang annoyingly at her ears.

''It has nothing to do with you. Leave me alone.'' She replied, not liking one bit how the smaller vampire was talking to her. She slowly reached to the Artemis hidden under her shorts.

The small boy paid no heed. ''Guess what? I feel generous today. I'll help you to get out of this annoying situation. You won't have to go through the trouble of choosing anymore, I'll make the choice simple for you.''

''Wha-''

A blunt object hit her head at full force, sending her flying and hitting a stonewall head on. She passed out instantly, too weak of blood loss to be able to fight back.

The level D who had knocked out the girl lifted her of the floor and dumped her over her shoulder. Giggling, the small pureblood walked away with his new prize.

'' Sadly, I'm not sure you'll quite like who you'll be stuck with, tehehe…''

/

/

/

Author's note: I hope you liked this chapter! I don't think I'll be able to post anything until 2011 because like I said, I'll be busy with a big project. Though I'd like to write a special Christmas chapter, but I can't promise anything.

...Did I make Zero overreact too much ? (he was supposed to overreact, but maybe not this much)

Oh whatever, it's his vampire hormones acting up xD


	8. Back to work

01:49

I managed to find time to write a chapter. It's a lighter one, I almost made Zero too...lively. No kidding, I almost thought that he was becoming slightly ooc. As funny as it sounds, I wanted to picture Zero as president of the Association. That's the main reason why I set the story two years later, not just one. I thought that if he was 19, he should be old enough to be named pres. And I wanted to show him in a ''daily-life'' kind of moment. It's funny that they published that special chapter with Zero and the hunters not too long ago. And I also realized that my timeline is fucked up. Whatever, you get the big idea. It's in summer, almost the end of the school year. I'm introducing a OC that I just made up on the spot, so don't worry, she won't take much space in the fic.

Disclaimer: bablabla, characters don't belong to me.

/

/

/

The sun was setting on a quiet Cross Academy. The students –no longer separated into Day and Night Class- had made their way to their dorms peacefully, no annoying behaviors to be noted. The girls were happily chit-chatting, what's with the end of the school year coming near, and the boys were just hanging around loosening up the tension after three whole hours of exams.

There had been a violent argument between two male students over some girl, but a small brown-haired girl, interrupting the petty fight, soon separated the two belligerents and held them away with her arms.

'' You two, stop that immediately if you don't want me to send you to the Chairman. You wouldn't want to get detention hours on the last day of school –in 2 days- would you? '', She said with an even voice, '' And Kiryuu-kun, you could have stopped them earlier, if only you moved from under that tree.''

''…''

She sighed and rolled her eyes. Pushing the boys apart, she let them walk away after a last warning and hurried the last groups of student loitering outside to go past the gate to their dorms. The prefect job had landed on her and she had accepted to take over Yuuki's role, but since the Night Class left, there wasn't much to do. The main role of the guardians was to protect a secret that wasn't here anymore. 2 years ago, after the incident that opened a whole new world to her human eyes, she had been one of the few allowed to keep her memories about the Night Class. About their true nature: vampires. But now, the only vampire left on school ground…

Was walking away.

'' _Geez, Yuuki, hurry and come back to him already. He's even more of a sociopath. ''_

True, Zero always had been as closed-up as a clam on everything concerning personal matters, sociability and feelings. He could only be pried open by her late roommate at that time. Now he was more guarded than Fort Knox. A sub-zero Fort Knox, mind you.

She walked quickly behind him, catching up as he walked to the school's gates. He wasn't walking fast either, just taking advantage of his long legs to get out before the brunette noticed.

'' You're planning on ditching me for night patrol? ''

He stopped walking right in front of the gates and grumbled an answer to her.

''Well?''

She crossed her arms and stared at his sullen back, waiting for an intelligible answer. She had all the time of the world and an incredible patience. She didn't have to wait too long.

'' I have work tonight. If you need help, ask the Chairman.'' He reformulated.

'' They make you work even though you're hurt?'' She asked, trying to get some reaction out of him.

He turned around reluctantly. He really didn't want to have a conversation with her because he was sure she was going to redirect it to his least favorite subject.

'' Sayori, it's been two days already. I'm…healed. And it's nothing of the sort, just a paperwork thing I have to take care of.'' He marked a hesitation on the word '' healed'', clearly not eager to start talking about his miraculous recuperation. He just hoped the prefect would stop prying in his business.

Yori perceived the uneasiness coming from the silver-haired guardian as he tensed slightly, getting ready to escape from her inquisition. His eyes weren't looking at her, just staring at the ground. She had a real talent in decoding people by the way they talked or moved. Yuuki was the easiest of course, every emotions showing up strongly in her eyes and her voice. Zero was harder, but once you understood that what he held the most precious in his heart was Yuuki, then it was pretty easy to understand him. And at this moment, he was especially shaken up, mostly because of Yuuki's wedding and the healing had probably something to do with her best friend…

She decided to let go this time. If it was between him and Yuuki, then she didn't have a say in this matter. Or she'll just have to bribe Yuuki with sweets next time she saw her.

'' I guess I'll be able to handle the task without the Chairman's _helpful_ presence. See you tomorrow.'' She said quietly, turning around and walking toward her dorm.

If Zero was surprised that she had let go of him easily, he didn't show it. He just turned, unlocked the gates and pushed open the tall wooden door. The hinges protested loudly so he almost missed Yori adding with a smile:

'' Oh, and you owe me a pastry for leaving me patrolling alone.''

The gate closed behind him with a thud.

* * *

Two or three times per week for two years, people had watched this tall young man coming down from the path to Cross Academy- considered as one of the most classy school in the country where busy parents sent their young rich heirs to- and making his way through town. Most townspeople recognized him by the black school garb and red tie hanging loosely around his neck and by the unusual silver hair flashing in the dying light of the sun. This peculiar color attracted the gaze of the citizens and it was more than just flashy, but he never would think of dying his hair. It was a heritage from his bloodline; he would keep it that way even if it had been quite a bother when he tried to pass incognito. Some people actually recognized him and knew what he was: not an ordinary student, but a hunter. And a vampire one at that. His hair gave him away easily; every hunter knew that the only Kiryuu survivor was now the Association President and that he was a vampire.

Passer-byes watched the somber boy enter a café, irritation clear in his face. The Headquarters were quite a long way from the Academy by foot; he really didn't need a chore added to his list. And he wanted to get there as soon as possible; he had received a call from his secretary saying they had news about the _incident._

The door opened with the chiming sound of bells, a cool wave of air conditioning and hot bread smell wafting over him as he entered the place full of young girls chit-chatting around their orders. The volume went down significantly at the arrival of the mysterious stranger. Some were here especially because they knew he came once in a while to command an order of croissants and cupcakes. They were ogling him from head to toes, practically swooning over his lean form clad in the uniform of the really uptight Cross Academy. Some student living on campus had informed one of the girls hanging around the café about his background: Adoptive son of the Chairman, top of the grades and a jock.

Past that point of non-return, the teenagers were fantasizing in their head. They knew he had a bad character – if all those glares meant to stop their stares and whispers were any clue- but they couldn't care less. With the Night Class gone, the young girls' hearts were desperately looking for some kind of hottie. The gorgeous silverette fitted easily in the category ''Smoking hot but off-limit'' of their list. So they just stared.

And stared some more.

Sometimes, one of them whispered to her friend and both turned red.

Then, they went back to just staring.

At this point, Zero was gritting his teeth in annoyance as he waited for his order at the cash register. Each time Sayori caught him as he tried to leave without her noticing, she ordered him to get her some pastries at the local café. And as time passed, there were more and more people when he came. Lots of **female** people, the giggling and blushing kind. He wasn't against making up for his absence with running an errand in town since she couldn't leave school grounds herself, but she could have chosen something else! Actually, he was sure that his fellow student knew exactly what happened when she sent him to get sweets.

The young woman behind the counter was trying hard not to play with the laces of the blue apron she was wearing, biting her lower lip with her front teeth as she observed the scene. She wanted to take a good look at the teen too, but his threatening looks were giving her goose bumps. Finally, a coworker brought her the order and she gave it to the young man. He almost snatched the brown paper bag and the cup from her hands, handed her the money for the 4 croissants and the black coffee, and turned to leave. Tucking the bundle under his arm and holding his coffee, he exited the restaurant quickly, feeling as though he would suffocate if he stayed any longer in this building.

Once this was done, he hurried down the streets to the Headquarters, taking sips from his drink as he went. He arrived at the gates of the Headquarters fifteen minutes later, the metal fence defending any non-tamed vampire from entering on the grounds. The two guards posted at the entrance glanced at his hair, unlocked the gates and let him in, accompanying their salutations to him with a little bow. Zero nodded once to them in acknowledgment and walked to the doors of the building, opening them and entering in the grand hall. The main hall was built in an arch, the gothic style of the building making it look like a cross between a cathedral and a big manor. The Headquarters were a two storey-high concrete construction but most of the installations were underground, where burnt the very heart of the organization. Passing through the main hall, the silver-haired teen couldn't help but overhear the gossips of the hunters hanging around on the balconies upstairs or see the wary looks of the others standing in the lobby. They were fewer than before but he was still rather uncomfortable with the situation. He had found more enemies than allies within the Association, the only thing restraining them from attacking him or make him resign from his functions was his strength. Like it or not, he was the boss here; his power and the fear it provoked prevented any further objections, unless he died of an early death. But accidents soon happened in the profession…

His office was the farthest one, at the other end of the building, on the second floor. It was in the middle of the hallway between the intelligence service section and the private section- the late president apartment- , the latter no longer used and would probably stay that way for a while. Opening the acajou doors, he only found his secretary and his shishou standing around a table where laid a map of the city and a laptop, along with various papers.

His master was slightly bent over as he read the map, his cowboy hat covering part of his face and his unique eye concentrated on one spot of the map.

The other person was his personal secretary. He didn't ask for one and was strongly opposed to it in the beginning- not wanting a stranger meddling in his things- but he came to see the benefices of having someone at the HA while in was in classes. Her name was Umeko; She was 18, a recruit who had proposed to work with him when most people didn't want to. At that time, he had difficulties getting accepted by the majority of the hunters; he had been recently named to his new post and there were a lot of contestations. Supposedly, the small brunette had tried to work on the field but found out that it wasn't her thing. She was more useful behind the front lines, as she often said.

'' Look who's here at last, took you long enough.'' Welcomed his master in a low rumble, a half-consumed cigarette between his lips.

'' Kiryuu-sama, I tried to stop him but he wouldn't listen-'' answered his secretary at his silent questioning.

''Shishou, I already told you not to smoke in my office or the apartment. It smells like shit and I don't want my lungs to turn black. Or Umeko's.'' He said as he deposed his paper bag on the table, pushing aside some pile of papers and making space. Turning to the girl, he added: '' And stop with the –sama already, it's annoying.'' He saw her tense at the way he had replied, sensing the irritation piercing in his voice.

He sighed. Really, that errand annoyed the hell out of him, he was ready to bite the next person's head off. She just wasn't lucky to find him in one of his mood. He apologized, not meaning to be hard on her : '' Look, it's been one year, I said you can call me Zero if you like when we're not in public.''

Umeko nodded once. '' Okay, Zero-senpai.''

This honorific bothering him less, he turned to see his master extinguishing his cigarette butt in an ashtray. Zero pulled a wooden chair from under the table and sat in it, observing the map. Both standing by the table imitated him, sitting down on a chair; Umeko by his side and Yagari in front of him.

Yagari snatched the paper bag, looking in it. '' Hum, so this time it's croissants? Smells good.'' He commented while he took one off the bag. '' Still warm too.''

Zero stretched across the table and took back the pastries, glaring at the veteran hunter. '' Stop it, after all the trouble I went through just to get them, don't go and eat one. ''

'' Well, kiddo, what do you think my cigarette was for. Now you made me hungry, I think Sayori-chan can spare one of 'em.'' He replied, exchanging glares with his student.

Leaning her head on her hand, elbow on the table, Umeko was looking amusedly at their interaction. She knew Zero often came to the office with a bag of pastries, for a school friend. It was quite funny imagining the serious silver-haired man in a girl-full café. She chuckled lightly, catching Zero's attention.

''What are you laughing at? '' he asked, falling back on his chair backrest and folding his arms, his brows furrowing when he realized he was acting much too lively to his liking. He was mildly annoyied at his outburst, he didn't feel comfortable with the feeling of normality.

She snickered some more. If she didn't knew him as much, she would have betted that he was almost…pouting. Another quiet laughter racked through her slim body, she found it strangely charming coming from him. Adorable, even.

'' Heheh, nothing, sorry.'' , she calmed herself and retried, '' Um, I mean, why did you buy yourself a coffee, we have a coffee machine downstairs. I could have made you one if you wanted.''

Zero grumbled. '' Yeah, right, one of those sickeningly sweet coffees of yours. You always put like 2 cubes of sugars and 2 milk caps in them. Even those you call _blacks _could pass for hot chocolates.''

Changing the subject, he asked her : '' What are the news? Do we finally have some lead on that affair? The head of the intelligence service, Sakamoto-san, should have reported back this morning.''

Getting back on business-mode, the secretary answered in a professional voice. '' Exactly, Sakamoto-san came this morning and said they investigated the matter. They looked for any lead pointing toward a pureblood or nobilities, a school and female students acting weirdly. It wasn't hard to find out that Shirabuki Sarah enrolled one year ago in Dahlia Academy Girls' school. She's usually very extravagant so we didn't pay much attention to her before today. She's known to be quite a pompous lady, so we only put minor surveying on her and with the lack of resources and active hunters, we only ensured that she didn't break the law. Actually, we know that she made some ''friends'' but legally, she's safe. Can't do anything against her unless the bittens weren't consenting.''

Umeko paused, looking gloomily at the report she was reading- seemingly lost in some bitter memories from the past- before continuing.

'' We found out she bought some businesses- mostly pharmaceutical ones-went to school from times to times, regularly missing classes; it's pretty normal considering her past behavior. The intelligence service is still looking for any other suspicious activity, but purebloods were always acting in the shadows anyway. What surprised Sakamoto-san is that they found out that one of Kuran's old friend was now her appointed secretary. A certain Takuma Ichijo, I'm sure you know him, huh? The heir of the Ichijo working for that woman is worrying us, we don't know if such a influent vampire allying to her means she'll gain more support from the pro-council families. What do you think? ''

Yagari cleared his throat. '' Probably. She's slowly gaining power if she has the Ichijo's behind her. Their family is powerful in the human and vampire world, even with the patriarch now dead.''

Zero had tensed his hand around the border of the table at the mention of the Kuran's name. He didn't like how it was turning, the pureblood woman was getting more slaves to order around. '' Maybe that Takuma-sempai is working for Kuran. It wouldn't surprise me if he's staying around to spy on Shirabuki, he was one of his most loyal follower. ''

'' But even if he's still with Kuran, people looking at it from the outside see it as if the Ichijo's chose their leader. Now the pro-council will follow his lead and support that pureblooded woman.'' Added Yagari as he passed a hand in his hair in a gesture of frustration.

Umeko was squirming in her seat, uncomfortable with what she had to announce. Her movements caught both men's sight, interrupting their musing. They waited for her to say something.

'' Actually, I didn't call you just for that….'' She began, avoiding Zero's piercing amethyst eyes. '' You see, I also received a call this morning. The interlocutor was asking for you specifically. He said it was an urgency because otherwise, he would have preferred to avoid going to such measure. You have to call him back because he only agreed to tell me the big lines, it has to be kept a secret. He said that you would probably refuse, but that if you don't call back, he'll come over to your office. He seemed pretty serious.''

''Who was it? What for? '' Zero inquired, intrigued but not liking the worry coming out like waves from his secretary.

'' It was Kuran Kaname. Kuran Yuuki has been missing for 2 days already.''

/

/

/

Author's note: Awww, I'm so tired. It's 2 am and I'm still typing on the laptop. Sorry for the lame cliffie, you could see it coming two miles away. Surprisingly, looks like Zero and Yori get along quite well. But no wonder, Yori is pro-zeki. She states in the fanbook that the person she hates is Kaname xD. That's why I quite like her. As for ''Umeko'', it means '' plum tree child''. My chinese name means '' plum tree'' so I just thought it was funny when I found this name in Wikipedia. (Plume tree was ''Ume'' but it didn't fit well, I think) I wanted a powerful name for a girl, but they were all boy names (sexists! ). The only one was ''Katana'', for a sword evidently. Forget it, it's too weird calling a girl that.


	9. The witch, the little girl and the devil

16:04

Yo! Boring chapter up ahead but it was necessary for the plot's sake. Gotta show you what Zero plans to do, even if it's mean attending at a boring meeting. If I didn't, you wouldn't have a clue and that would have frustrated some.

Disclaimer: Dude, do I even have to do it anymore?

/

/

/

''_Kuran Yuuki has gone missing.''_

Suddenly, the lights in the room flickered on and off and the temperature dropped a few degrees. The one responsible for the change of atmosphere was completely still, hands crisped around the armrests and eyes clouded like a thunderstorm in summer. Every other occupants of the room tensed, knowing they were walking on a mined field. Yagari now knew why Umeko was so reluctant to bring up this peculiar subject.

These past two years, talks about the Kuran siblings were definitely a taboo when around Zero. They preferred to avoid the subject when it wasn't necessary, but when they did for official business; it was enough to set the young hunter in a bad mood. And a bad mood sometimes meant that his vampire aura slipped a bit from his control and lashed at his surroundings. With Kaname Kuran, it was plain and simple: he showed an unfathomable hate for the pureblood that was sure. He avoided having to talk directly to him while in official meetings and slipped one or two well-covered insults when he did. Any kind of polite conversation between the two archenemies was more like an exchange of verbal blows, testing each other's limit. Kaien Cross usually acted as the peacemaker, surveying Zero and making sure he wasn't ruining the effort for the peace agreement between races. As for the subject of his former best friend, partner, stepsister and object of affection, it was mixed because as much as he seemed not to care about Yuuki Kuran and associated her with his hate for pureblood beings, he still seemed protective of her somehow. Yagari was sure that Zero didn't even notice how he instinctively tried to keep her out of harm's way.

''Hum, Zero-senpai?'' risked Umeko.

The dark atmosphere suddenly lifted from the room, temperature rising once again. Zero wasn't as tensed anymore, fingers relaxing around the armrests. His pose was still rigid as he passed his hand in his hair, ruffling them in annoyance. He seemed to have less and less control on his little outbursts and he didn't like it.

'' Umeko, I'm calling a meeting in the briefing room in 15 minutes. I would like you to go and notify Sakomoto-san, we'll need him and captains of each hunter teams. And I want you two to attend it, of course.'' He simply said. He stood up and started gathering the papers and map on the table.

His secretary looked at him questioningly, waiting for further orders and to see what he was going to do about Kuran Kaname, but it didn't seem like he would say anything else. So she simply nodded once and left the room to seek the hunters needed at the meeting.

Yagari stood up too but merely leaned against the wall, crossing his arm and observing his ex-apprentice with one severe blue eye, clearly not buying the nonchalance act Zero put up. ''What are you trying to do, sending some search team to find that little girl? ''

The ruffling of paper stopped. Zero looked up from his hands holding a pile of documents and the folded up map but merely shot an annoyed look at his master. ''What are you talking about?''

His master's unique eyebrow furrowed at that response. That was definitely not the answer he had expected. '' Well, I guessed that you were doing all that because of Kuran Kaname's phone call. Aren't you going to search for her? ''

'' I'm not calling a meeting for that. We've got more urgent matters to deal with. I want to deploy teams around Dahlia Academy and we already don't have many men on the fields since we cleaned up the Association of every corrupted member. It would only be a waste of effort and time to search for her.'' He answered, obviously not fazed by the older man's early assumptions.

Yagari couldn't stand one more minute of that nonsense. Uncrossing his arms, he walked to his disciple and grabbed forcefully the front of his uniform, approaching his face to his stupid disciple's to be sure he wouldn't be able to look away. '' Do you honestly think what you just said?'' _Did your humanity really vanish two years ago? Was that the vampire you answering?_

Zero made a weak attempt to disengage from the hold his master had on him, but decided otherwise after seeing the icy glare piercing him with intense disappointment and anger. He actually felt glad that it was only one eye and not two, which stared at him, but felt immediately guilty over that thought. That one missing eye had been his fault too.

''What if I did? '' Zero snapped, slipping from Yagari's grip and backing one step away. '' Since when does the security of one pureblood pass before the security of the innocent humans on whom Shirabuki's army of level D may pray upon? We can't risk some war when the Hunter Association is weakened after the incident from 2 years ago. And if it's mean that we must find out where Kuran Yuuki is to avoid some political incident with the Kuran's, we'll do it.''

Okay, now Yagari was confused. But confusion wasn't something he liked to deal with. '' Stop taking detours and answer clearly. Are you or are you not going to answer Kuran Kaname's demand and send hunters to look for that

girl?''

Zero scowled at that. " I'm not obeying that bastard. He can search her for all I care and drop by the HA. And I'm not sending any hunters to look for her. Check this out.''

The young hunter bowed down to retrieve a piece of paper, which had fallen among the others, scattered on the floor. Yagari's bold movement had made him lose hold on his documents and they were now decorating the wooden floor.

Glancing at it, he handed it to Yagari after making sure it was the right one.

He then proceeded on retrieving the other ones while he explained to his master what it was.

'' This is the written version of a record the intelligence service managed to tape of a conversation between Takuma Ichijo and some students from the Academy, one day after my assassination attempt. I've found it earlier as I flipped through the file but it didn't flash me as some interesting lead before Kuran called.''

The veteran read in silence the short bit of conversation, the soft murmur of Zero's clothes as he stretched his arms to get the slightly ruffled documents being the only sound in the room.

_T. Ichijo: '' Please, let go of me, I must have a talk with Shirabuki-sama.''_

_whining_

_Student 1: '' But sir, we want to know so much. The lady Sara-sama is taking so much care of, is she going to be one of us to and transfer in our class?''_

_Student 2: '' Takuma-san is so mean! We would like to help Sara-sama's guest too but we never see the two of you these days. ''_

_T. Ichijo: '' That's really kind of you, girls, but Shirabuki-sama wants to help her herself. You see, that girl is very sick and was brought in since you all know of Shirabuki-sama's healing powers. She fears you might catch her illness too, so she would like to heal her alone. Even I isn't allowed to see or enter in contact with her, she is to be left alone in the underground guest room. Understood?''_

_Student 1: '' Sure, if Sara-sama ask it. We'll prepare a welcome party for the new student if Sara-sama wish so though, so please tell her.''_

_T. Ichijo: ''Sure, sure, I'll make sure that she knows of your suggestion.''_

_-The following conversation wasn't recorded as the main subject, , left the scene hurriedly, and the rest of the girl talk didn't constitute anything in link with Shirabuki Sara's whereabouts and activities.-_

Looking up from the paper, Yagari watched his disciple-who was replacing the papers in a neat pile- with a certain wonder.

His gruff voice cut through the soundless atmosphere. '' So you actually think that Sara is behind Kuran Yuuki's disappearance, isn't it?''

Scoffing, Zero answered the question with certain smugness. '' Call it a hunch but I'd bet anything she's the one behind the twisted plan. I didn't have much of a proof before but this paper confirmed my sixth sense, which definitely smelled something fishy about all those coincidences. She probably thought Aido made great bait to get Yuuki out of her house. The Chairman told you too, huh? Aido was asked to get some sweets and out of worry at his lateness she probably decided to look for him. As for Kuran Kaname, he was working at that time at the Senate. I don't know if I was just unlucky to fall on Aidou on my way and got dragged in all that and she decided to kill me as well just to make good figure. Anyway, she managed to take the opportunity to get her hands on a young pureblood who was unprotected, far from her well guarded home. ''

His mind thought otherwise as he said that. Some part of his mind whispered that there was no coincidence about him getting caught in it. Some part of him thought that maybe that Shirabuki had been planning on using Zero's link to Yuuki to draw the young vampiress to him. Some part of him analyzed the fact that maybe if he was dying; Shirabuki thought that Yuuki would be selfless enough to her former best friend to offer him her blood out of kindness. And that part of him realized with some mixed guilt and stupor that draining Yuuki of her sweet blood surely made her an easier prey for Shirabuki. Zero put that theory at the back of his mind for now.

He completed as he put the big folder of paper under his arm and took the bag of croissants and his coffee.'' -And she's being held prisoner underneath the girl Academy by that vampiress. There's no need to send hunters to search for her, we'll surround the school and make Shirabuki surrender. If she doesn't, we'll take this as a menace to guardians of order and say that she's actually threatening another pureblood. Her immunity will be taken down and we'll be able to hunt her properly.''

''Let's go, we'll be late if you continue asking things I'll re-explain to the others in three minutes, Shishou.'' Walking to the door, the silver-haired hunter opened it and waited for his master to come.

Letting out a heavy sigh and a small chuckle, Yagari shoved his hands in his pants' pockets and proceeded on following out his stupid apprentice. ''_Stupid, but quite a genius when he actually makes an effort to use that brain of his. To actually figure that out alone, in so little time and with few information, I guess he does deserves the title of president.''_

But then, some interrogation came up as he walked in the corridor next to the younger hunter.

'' And if she uses Kuran as her hostage?''

He answered automatically, no hesitation showing in his voice. '' I'll fetch the lost princess myself, that's all.''

Zero's determination finally persuaded the veteran hunter that he had made the right decision in pushing Zero in the painful road of survival and hard training one year ago. Sure, the kid had changed a lot throughout the years, but as hard as he had become, he still would never be able to let go of that inner kindness. They were enemies, but Zero would blame it on his duty as a hunter to go and save the girl from her captors. After all, Yagari knew his student like the back of his hand; Zero still couldn't let go of his feelings for the little prefect who always smiled brightly at him. This instinct of protectiveness tugged at the boy, unconscious that there was more than what he accepted to believe in those few words. Now, if only he stopped deliberately ignoring it…

* * *

-20 minutes later-

''…So that's how it is, we should deal with this matter as rapidly as possible before she manages to create a bigger army and recuperate the pureblood Kuran Yuuki before Kuran and the Senate start a blood feud in that city. Understood?''

It had been a hard job to convince them of the urgency of the situation. The duty of a hunter was a solitary job. Most worked in solo or in small teams of two or tree but they existed an organization of ten different teams for big operations.

The majority of the men present in the room nodded, agreeing with the start of a rescue and extermination operation. Zero had been briefing them for the past 15 minutes, explaining the reason of such a major operation with the aid of Sakamoto-san and the pieces of proof. In the dim light of the old electric lamps, the young hunter was standing up at one end of the long wooden table, masterpiece of the antique room, and was examining the faces of the 10 men. The young head of the hunters sometimes had difficulties persuading hunters as experienced as his master when he gave away missions and such. He was only 19 years old while most of the team captains were his master's age. Though as nail, hardheaded and gruff, the hunters assembled here disliked being bossed around by a ''young' one'', let alone a vampire youngster. In the first months following his new position in the HA, they had tried to pick on him and ridiculed every decision he had made. Racist jokes punctuated the meetings and only a well-placed glare shut them up. They gradually made up their mind; as ironic as it sounded, the best vampire hunter of the Association was a vampire. The clever ones decided to trust the heir to the Kiryuu family with his duty, unable to object when faced with his strict sense of duty and fidelity to his hunter origins. Stubborn ones preferred death over having to admit that Kiryuu was an exceptional hunter.

'' Okay then, I'll divide the teams: I want team A, B, D, positioned around the fences of the Academy. Don't leave anyone in or out of the school. If some normal students come to you, use the usual governmental police force excuse and evacuate them. You may use the memory-eraser spell on recalcitrant students. Vampire students mustn't be harmed until you get the go-signal from me, once Sara makes any hostile move toward us. Even if she does, don't attack the level C and D unless they show any aggressiveness at us. Also, our scientific division would like to study any of those weird enhanced level D, so if you ever encounter one, try to capture it and handcuff it. The scientific division director will take care of him. Team C, E and F, I want you in front of the school gates, with Yagari and me. Once we make an entrance, I want team C and E in front, with team F backing us. Some medics will be dispersed in team A, B and D, so injured hunters can find help there. The rest of the teams will work as usual, taking care of the stray level E and continue in their usual missions, but I want at least some hunters on guard duty at the Headquarters. If she takes Kuran as her hostage, I'll leave Yagari in charge of the operation and sneak in unnoticed. I'll confront Shirabuki alone if I'm found out.''

As he talked, he moved some pawns on the map displayed on the table representing each team. A grumble on his right interrupted his train of thoughts.

A strong built hunter, a certain Tokusa of team B, regarded him with certain dissatisfaction and doubt in his eyes. Passing his calloused hand in his coal-black beard, he asked: '' 'suppose we do as you say, what are the chances that this operation isn't a whole fluke, that you overestimated the strength of normal D's when you were attacked and that the Kuran girl isn't prisoner of the blond witch, whatcha gonna do, huh? Apologize for the dead hunters who died because of a wrong decision?''

'' _Personal attack huh…You're questioning my strength and implied that I'm too weak to even gauge the force of my adversaries.''_

Putting both hands flat on the wooden table, Zero directed his hard amethyst glare at the man but addressed the following at every hunter in the room, sensing the whole ambience of distrust. His pupils flashed in the glowing light, a silver spark of something unnatural twinkling briefly.

'' Say what you want about it but I can sense the girl's presence from afar. The taming spell etched in my neck should be able to detect her if I go at that Academy. If I can't sense her, we'll retreat for now and pursue a deeper research. Rest assured that I wouldn't force you to fight, Tokusa. I'm sure plenty of others would be happy to take command of your team if you think you are not fit for this operation.''

Dropping the honorifics, Zero's harshness cut through the silence like a well-sharpened knife.

Offended, the big man stood up from his chair and roared: '' Are you implying that you have the power to take away my position? You are a hundred times too young to even dare assuming that. You may be our president, but only because of those goddamned vampire capacities of yours. You don't fight fair, filthy vampire!''

Zero didn't react at the insult, merely hardening his gaze and his mouth turning into a scowl. He was seriously pissed at having his authority contested every time because of his vampire nature. Couldn't they see already that he despised it too, being what he was? He was seen as a vampire good to be killed by the hunters, a hunter to be hated by the vampires.

'' Is that a challenge, Tokusa? If that makes you happy, we could have a match immediately. I could wield a regular weapon and nullify my vampire powers by nicking my skin with an anti-vampire weapon. Let's fight fair and square and _if_ I lose, maybe you'll deem me unfit for managing my role as president of this organization and I'll have to step down.'' He quirked one end of his upper lip in a discrete smirk, knowing in advance what would be the hunter's reaction.

Some hunters looked stunned by the personal challenge issued; other secretly satisfied: they would happily agree with a change of president, but nobody wanted to step out and challenge the vampire themselves.

Tokusa's fat lip trembled with rage, wanting to bash the pretty boy's face into a big accident. His fists clenched till his veins were showing, he looked about to explode. Yagari, standing a little off by the Zero's side, next to Umeko, was harboring a small smile. His apprentice was stirring up some trouble but it was the best way to pass a clear message to the others. That way, the dissidences were stifled before the beginning of the operation.

A moment passed. Someone discreetly coughed.

The burly man finally decided otherwise. He fell down loudly in his chair, grumbling to himself. He wasn't ready to lose his face and dignity to a vampire teenager. He was disgusted to have to admit that he couldn't stand a chance, even in those conditions.

The rest of the meeting went smoothly. People had gotten the message:

''_Do not mess with the silver-haired vampire hunter.''_

_

* * *

_

The meeting room was cleared rapidly, team captains gone to organize their own squadrons. It only left behind a tired vampire hunter, a frantic secretary and a veteran contemplating the scene of an empty table.

Taking back his things, Zero only spared a glance at his master when the guy approached him and ruffled his hair with a gloved hand.

'' You did a pretty good job handling those men, kiddo. It's not an easy feat to mobilize those guys, we're quite an independent bunch.''

''…I hate those meetings.'' He answered bluntly. _That only reminded him how different he was from the other hunters._

The tall man grinned. '' I know you do. I hate those too. Too much talking, uh?''

The teen nodded once.

Umeko's nervous laughter rang in the room. '' Haha, wow, I really thought that you and Tokusa-san were coming to hands. But Zero-senpai, you seemed so sure of winning it. I guess you do deserve the title of strongest hunter, he couldn't stand a chance.''

'' It's not entirely true.'' Zero calmly explained, '' It would have been a hard fight; it was fifty-fifty. Tokusa looks like a Neanderthal but he's got some brains and has more experience than me. He's also physically stronger than me if I don't use my enhanced strength and I'm still a bit weak from my convalescence.''

Dumbfounded, the young woman declared: ''So you could have lost. Why did you provoke him then?''

''I was betting on the fact that the rumors circulating about me would be enough to dissuade him.'' He answered, his right hand brushed lightly over his heart, on the emplacement of his wound.

A bit queasy, Umeko replaced a strand of hair, her cheeks blushing with some kind of shame. ''Oh. You did hear them then.''

He whispered softly. ''How could I not… I know what they say about me in my back, what they have been telling even to my face for a year. They think I'm even more of a wretched creature since I survived death two days ago. A monster that cannot die. But it's fine; they'll fear me and obey. And that fear will make them stronger.''

His secretary was even more ashamed. A shame against her own people and a guilt that made her want to cry. And she felt culpability, knowing that she had been like them too before she got to work with the lonely young man.

A slight pat on her cheek made her realize that he was right in front of her.

'' It's fine, really. '' He tried to reassure her. Blushing even more, she nodded once, not trusting her voice at the moment. She turned around, averting his eyes, and started gathering the documents.

Profiting from the distance the girl had made between her boss and herself, Yagari approached Zero and asked in a low voice:

''I was wondering, are you not worried in the slightest for the little girl?''

A pause. Zero was searching for the right answer but his heart gave different instructions to his brain. He decided to follow his logic; his heart was too much of a mess to answer. '' I'll perform my duty. She has to be returned safely to Kuran Kaname for the sake of peace. I'll keep to my word and hunt her one day. In the meanwhile, her security is the least of my worries.''

Yagari decided to drop the subject, not eager to get Zero in a bad mood just before such an important fight.

As for Zero, he marked an hesitation before adding: '' In truth, I'm not sure anymore…''

Looking behind him at Umeko, he noticed that she was waiting for some kind of order.

'' You stay here for me. Handle that Kuran guy if he shows up.''

When she heard that, Umeko twiddled with her pen uneasily. '' Huh, should I lie to him and tell you're somewhere else?''

She was really uncomfortable with that notion. Kuran Kaname was a powerful pureblood, if he thought that she wasn't useful, he might torture her to get the information of Zero's whereabouts. Or get very angry with her when he would learn that Kiryuu didn't bother calling him back. Her poor skills with a rapier wouldn't be any help in that situation.

'' No. Just tell him where we are; we'll avoid unnecessary deaths. I'm sure he would be able to tell that you are lying.'' Zero scoffed, obviously aware of her discomfort. He added: '' But if you have time afterward, can you go at Cross Academy and deliver that to Wakaba Sayori? She must be patrolling somewhere on school grounds. '' He handed her the bag of croissants.

'' And if you could tell the Chairman that I might not come tomorrow for the final exams. I'll try to take them back another day.''

How annoying. He was almost done with school but now this came up. If he had to take back the whole school year because of that, he would strangle the Chairman.

Reassured, his secretary bowed slightly. ''Sure, I'll do that.'' Taking the small package, she left the room with the various documents in her arms.

Not long after she left the room, another woman appeared at the door. Dressed in a long white smock, brown hair tied in a sever bun, eyes glinting with a certain maliciousness, the tall woman had her lips pursed in a thin smile.

'' Before you go deal with the blond witch, mister Kiryuu, I want you in the infirmary now for a medical checkup. Pronto.'' She said with certain malice as she watched the frown immediately appearing in the boy's face.

_God, not that devil woman again._

/

/

/

Author's note: Yaay, after a very long and boring chapter, I'll alleviate all of that seriousness with a visit a the infirmery. *giggles* I understand a bit Matsuri Hino now. People are complaining of the sudden seriousness in the main story, but with what happened, it's really hard to keep the story fluffy or funny. But we try, we do. But Zero and Kaname are so serious sometimes. That's why we need people like Aido or Kaito; they lift some of the seriousness. And that ''devil woman'' will help me make fun of Zero in the next chapter. I don't know her name yet, but I'm sure that she is a sadistic character mwahaha!


	10. Special chapter: Showdown

02:40

Special chappie, finally! I know I said I was going to update quickly, but I guess I talked too rapidly. I got caught up in projects and that slowed me down. Blessed be God for winter vacations. Phew. Actually, it's almost a normal chapter since it's very long and everything, but it lacks the usual seriousness. Like a normal chapter, the next chapter will be the direct sequel, the stuff in this special chapter actually happened in the fanfic, excepted the small crack part at the end. So nope, nothing that will make the plot advance further, just a showdown between demon and vampire.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: God, please give me another small favor. I wish I owned the character of Vampire Knight...Ah, really. Not possible? *sighes*

* * *

/

/

/

High heels clacked against the hard wooden floor, tapping in a continuous rhythm as the owner of gorgeous red shoes strode purposely toward the left wing of the Association buildings. Her white smock swaying at her ankles, she left a trail of wary people behind her as she advanced, head held high and eyes dismissing the curious gazes of the bystanders. '' The Devilish Ice Queen '', as some called her between themselves, was often seen dragging some poor wounded hunter to her den. Sure, the prey would not show any fear to his empathizing comrades, but they would hear frightening tales when he would come back later, healed but knowing better than falling ill ever again. Rumors circulated among the hunters that it was her way of gaining respect since she wasn't a born hunter, but they were proven false. A particularly frightened newbie had stated that she was just sadistic, to a point where treating and torturing made no difference whatsoever to her.

Today was different because the patient was as scary as the doctor.

Following the woman at a five-feet distance, the young president of the HA was walking grudgingly in her wake, careful not to let it show that he absolutely abhorred the idea of being stuck in her infirmary for the next 20 minutes or so. It clearly didn't work because he could see the hunters recoiling at the dark energy he emitted, like a black thundercloud crackling and sparking in anger. He was seething, thinking back at his master's reaction when Eliza had come to fetch him. The older man had given some pretext like an urgent business to settle with fellow hunters and left him to deal with her.

Zero growled under his breath. He had avoided encounters with the infamous chief doctor of the Association since he healed naturally (or unnaturally if you think of it) without the help of medical skills. The incident from two days ago had weakened sufficiently so that Eliza actually noticed it, and like a bloodhound well attuned to the scent of a big prey, jumped on the occasion and got her hand on this unique specimen. This excuse was as good as others; it was only a matter of time before she called the yearly examination. That one time back in his debut was not something he wanted to reiterate.

Pulled out of his reverie by the sound of a door opening, he stepped in after her and closed the door behind him. The infirmary was the same as last time: white and clean, two black chairs facing a desk with various work furniture and papers littering it, a library filled with medical books, a metal storage desk for the personal health dossiers for each of the Association's members, and rows empty bed with the medical equipment. They were alone, as always. People tended to heal fast in the infirmary, either because of the skills of the doctors or because they wanted to get as rapidly away from the Ice Demon as possible.

Paper rustled as she foraged through the numerous files in her cabinet, looking for his dossier. It seemed she was having difficulties to find it, seeing that she opened it only once a year. Zero was growing impatient, standing by the door, ready to leave at a moment's notice. _''God, if you exist, make it so that she never finds it and tell me to leave. I hate her but she seems to enjoy it and finds delight whe-''_

His internal prayer was cut off when she motioned him to sit in a chair. ''Stop looking dumb and take a seat already.''

He glared at her but she had her back to him and was completely obvious to the pair of steely amethyst glowing with animosity. _''If I recall it well, the last time we met you nagged at me for 5 minutes because I didn't wait for you to say it.''_

'' Oh, here it is. It's so slim I almost missed it. It's funny, when you think of it. It's not like you're someone easy to miss, I'm sure your personal record at the Association library is quite heavy.'' She said as she slammed the cabinet shut and dumped the file on her desk.

'' So,'' She eyed him as she sat down in her comfy seat, taking a pen and the dossier, '' it's been a while since we last saw, mister Kiryuu. You've been busy with vampires this whole year but I never got the chance to treat your wounds. Well, I'm glad I finally get to meet you again.''

'' The feeling isn't reciprocated. '' He calmly stated. Crossing his arms over his chest and leaning in his chair, he made a point of sending the message of hostility across.

Not looking at him, she shrugged once and started flipping through the file before settling on a particular page.

'' The report says you, Kaito-kun and a certain aristocrat vampire got ambushed by a bunch of level D. Kaito-kun was diagnosed with only few superficial cuts and a deep slash to the forearm. It was easily taken care of with a few stitches and anti-bacterial spray. ''

Zero nodded, remembering the way Kaito had awkwardly used his left arm to write something on the black board in class. Surely, that was due to the stitches.

''…And in your case, the cleaning team sent on the scene to wash away all trace of the mess you made noted that there was an unusually high amount of blood. Yours, it seemed. They are amazed that you actually survived at all and without a doubt, they contributed a lot to the fortification of your image of an undying vampire. They were all chatting away and ruining a perfectly fine lunch with their talks and gory details. Personally, I just found it more intriguing. Care to tell me what happened to bring you back from the land of the dead?''

The teen stayed succinct, shooting her a look that said that he wasn't in the mood. But then, when was he ever in a good mood?

'' I healed, that's all.''

Eliza shook her head in disbelief, small strands of brown hair swaying on her forehead. She tapped her pen against the file and talked to him like she was scolding a small petulant child. '' Come on, Kiryuu-kun. We all know that vampire-healing ability can do miracles, but vampires can die from smaller wounds than the one you received last day. It was fatal but you're almost completely fine two days after, that's unheard of. Did you perhaps develop a new ability unique to your vampire and hunter disposition? Or maybe did you find some powerful blood donor? ''

'' …''

The doctor observed him as he scowled - staring unseeingly at the ground,- not wanting to reply to her inquisitions. Her mouth crooked into a grin. He had just provided her the answer she needed.

'' You don't want to tell me? Well, it's in your rights not to talk about things you'd rather keep secret. After all, you're the boss here. Though I find you terribly young for such a duty. If I were you, I'd enjoy the most of my youth before getting stuck with responsibilities up to my neck.''

Zero lifted his head and met her eyes. The choices he made weren't her business. Anyway, what was she doing talking about past youth? She was only, what, 25? 28 at the most?

'' Enough with the chitchat. Let's cut to the chase and get on with it.'' His voice cut short to her one-way discussion. She was treading on dangerous ground and testing his limits, hoping to get the most reactions out of him.

''Oooh, an impatient one. I like it. Unlike most hunters, you don't even play the tough card and pull out excuses so you can be exempted of the checkup. Fine, get your ass on this.'' She stood up and pointed at a high bed-table thing (no kidding, I don't know how you call them) on the side of the room and proceeded on slipping on plastic gloves.

Zero obeyed, determined to make it quick and then walk out of the place. He sat on the mattress thing and waited for further instructions.

Her next order came soon afterward, like a supreme order. Or a dead sentence, depending how you saw it.

''Strip. I need to see that wound.''

Tugging at his collar, he let loose his red tie, which fell on the mattress, then discarded the uniform's black coat. He methodically unbuttoned the other pieces of clothing, cursing in his head against the Chairman's taste for buttons. His hands finally gripped the white shirt and he managed to get rid of it, throwing it in a pile beside him. Clad only in his black pants, he shot a look at the doctor was waiting patiently in front of him, stethoscope in one hand and blood pressure pump in the other.

She checked his heartbeat, the cool metal of the stethoscope stopping on the emplacement of his heart. Nodding, she then took his blood pressure, noting things in the dossier as she worked. She looked for any other visible health problem, found none and noted it.

'' It's not really professional of me to say that but…'' She checked him out from head to toes as he uncomfortably shifted on the mattress, '' I wonder why you still don't have a girlfriend. I mean, you're pretty nice to look at.''

He glared at her, sending knives through his look.

She chuckled. '' Ah, right. You're as ill temperate as me, maybe even more. Don't worry, cutie, you'll find someone one day who will endure your moodiness. It's only a wonder I found a sweet husband when so many of the men are perverted pigs and anti-feminists. ''

''_And it's really a wonder that there exists a man who can stand a demon like you and agreed to marry.'' _He thought.

''Hey, don't shoot me a mean look like that. I was pretty kind to you since the beginning of the checkup. You see, I'm making efforts to be friendly, unlike you. That's no way to get a girl's heart. Anyway, let me get a closer look on that…whatever you did to heal, it worked really well. You only have a small round scar.''

She approached her face to the emplacement of the wound, now completely healed, and probed it with her finger.

''It doesn't hurt?'' A ''no'' with his head. '' And this?'' She poked him with force in his side. Gritting his teeth, he muttered :'' Well, if you weren't stabbing me with your nail, it wouldn't.'' She smirked. '' Oh, look, it can talk!''

'' _You b-ch…'' _His thoughts trailed off, a string of cuss words building up in his throat.

'' Did you have any problem with your respiration lately?''

''No.''

She thrust her finger in his side again. He yelped and started rubbing the sore spot. His purple eyes were burning aflame and were met with equally furious eyes.

''Don't you dare lie to me about health matters. I'm a doctor, it's true that I shouldn't meddle in hunter affairs, but when it comes to health I won't let you keep little secrets away from me. Your condition could worsen and I would mean more work for me to get you back up on your feet. Now do me a favor and answer me honestly, or I swear next time I'm gonna stab you with a syringe in your cute little behind. ''

He measured the seriousness in her look, the way she was staring fearlessly at him and was determined to put her menace to execution. She proved to be quite an adversary in this staring contest and he decided to let it go, not without a last warning:

'' You do that and I fire you, though.''

She smiled: ''Sure, sure, you're the boss here. That way me and my husband could go back in Nice, make a good load of money and spend the rest of our life in a little villa by the Mediterranean sea. Good luck finding a replacement.''

True. She was an irreplaceable element for the Association. Finding someone related to the hunters with world-famed medical skills would be completely impossible. Too bad, he would have liked to. Tch.

He sighed. '' Training is more exhausting than usual. I get winded up after really long jogs and when I lift heavy weights. ''

''And you still want to lead the mission tonight? ''

'' Yeah, I personally want to see the end of this problem.'' A thin smile spread on his lips, anticipating the night ahead. He couldn't wait to blast the blond witch's haughty face to bits with his Bloody Rose.

'' Personal matters, uh? Then I won't try to stop you.'' Zero was glad to hear that. He had feared she was going to issue some medical interdiction and force him to skip the mission. She continued: ''But if you come back in bad condition, don't count on me to be sympathizing.''

The teen merely huffed. If he indeed hurt again, he would avoid going at the infirmary.

''What about bloodlust? You must be craving for some substance to get your system back on the tracks.'' She waited for a reply, syringe in hand, and ready to admonish him if he lied again or evaded her inquisition.

'' I don't do auscultation on vampires often since very few tamed vampires work for the HA, and even then they never work for us really long…'' She paused. '' But I know that you must want some real blood, not those chemical substitutes. We have some blood pouches in the back, I'll allow you to take one.''

He shook his head, denying this easy solution for the burning turmoil in his guts and the parchment dryness in his throat.

'' No, I'm okay with blood tablets.'' He rasped. Damn. Even thinking about it made the cravings stronger.

''That's very admirable of you but your stubbornness will get you or someone else killed, one day.'' She walked to the sink, turned the tap on and replenished a tall glass with cold water. She handed it to him. ''There, at least take a glass with the blood tablets.''

He would have preferred to munch a bunch of them dry, but he wouldn't let people know of how much he had to use each time. Searching through a pocket in his discarded coat, he drew out his blood tablets box and shook out 3 out of it. He dropped them in the glass and waited for them to dissolve in a reddish-pink mist.

'' The world really is small. The vampire - Aido I think was his name- who got caught up in all this was the same one who designed the blood tablets along with some friends. He has a reputation, even out of the night world. A genius, they say. Well, tablets are quite revolutionary.'' She watched him gulp down the glass and handing it back to her, his face distorted in an expression of distaste. ''I guess he should have done something about the taste though. It would be the best way to popularize them.''

'' I'll give you a shot of a drug; alike a substance like testosterone, only hunter-specialized. It will give you the energy and strength you lack because of that wound. It should last only for the night though. You might feel some aftereffects once the medication is dissolved in your blood vessels and washed away by your system. Some slight nausea, headaches and extreme tiredness. Maybe others, I never tested it on a vampire hunter, vampire himself.''

He agreed to it all. He needed everything he could if he went against a pureblood.

She filled the syringe with a transparent substance and started tapping his left arm with a wet cloth. '' Is the mission only a vendetta against Shirabuki Sara, or it's something to do with your former crush? I personally think it's the later.''

'' What makes you say that I do it for her sake? And don't call her that.'' Eyes sparked with electricity behind his silver bangs.

A cold smile etched across her lips, she was the personification of the most glacial of the demons.

'' Lover boy, you ain't clever when it comes to these things. The more you deny it, the more people think it's true. I'm sure a lot of people teased you with it, and each time you said no. Your bad mood must have discouraged her, somehow, to the point where she chooses her own brother over you. I guess menacing her with a gun didn't help. If my own husband did that too me, he'd get a whack over the head with a cooking pan.''

''You're going to far, don't talk like you know- '' She punched the needle in his arm while he was distracted by anger and injected the drug in his body. He let out a yell when the pain fired in his arm, coursing in his system and making him see stars. '' You motherfu- argh''

She pulled out the needle and made a motion, like she was blowing the smoke over the muzzle of a imaginary gun in the form of a syringe. She put the finishing touch to her professional work, slapping a plaster with a yellow smiley on it, making sure it hurt the sensible spot on his arm and his ego while she was at it.

Eliza grinned an evil smirk. ''There, all set. You easily get distracted when emotions take over. The substance is actually really hard on the body at first, so you must feel dizzy and have a foggy mind. Don't thank me for riling you up so you weren't focused on the pain, it was a pleasure. I would recommend you to rest for about 15 minutes, but I want to get outta here and buy myself a cup of mocha. I want to have time to chat with the Scientific Division chief; Marco is really good at cracking up jokes about dead bodies. Now out, before I decide you need more than just one shoot of that thing and aim for your ass.''

Facing the threat of a second injection from the woman, a slightly confused Zero made a grab for his holster and clothes and hurried out of her grasp.

The door was slammed with force behind him as he left the infirmary.

Half nude in the corridor, feeling completely humiliated and rather irritated, he proceeded to dress up while some disturbed onlookers gave small comprehensive smiles and sympathetic looks. They all knew what it was like to go through the white hell in and out. Seeing that the president himself wasn't able to defend himself against the white-clad beast was making him more human and approachable. One hunter about his age actually patted his shoulder and gave him an understanding look before leaving with his companions. The hallway was soon emptied.

''Hey! I heard her Majesty the Ice Devil herself summoned you. Does it hurt?''

Buttoning his shirt, he recognized the voice of his fellow hunter next to him. Seems like his sense were more dulled than he presumed, Kaito was standing only two feet away, a black coffee in one hand and a Pepsi in the other.

Zero snorted derisively. '' Humor me. Of course it does, she punched me with a needle like a boxer would do on a sand bag.'' He bent down to retrieve his coat and put it on. He didn't bother with his tie, only pulling it around his neck and letting it hang loose.

The ash-haired hunter gave a pained smile when he heard that. '' Yeah, she's brutal once she get's her hand on a patient. Eliza-san makes you avoid getting any new wound with her painful method of treatment. And it works. You're more afraid of healing than getting wounded by vamps. Almost makes me jealous of you; if I were a vampire I wouldn't have to see her each time I'm hurt. Here, take it.''

He gave him the cup of coffee. The silver-haired teen was thankful for that.

''I made sure it was extra-black, sugar-less and boosted with pure caffeine delight. Maybe it will help you feeling better over the fact that you got your ass handed back by the White Demon.''

Zero took a gulp of his coffee, savoring, before responding to the teasing.

''I didn't.''

''Oh yes, you did. You should have seen your face, flushed with embarrassment.'' Zero was sure that Kaito was exaggerating. He hadn't blushed, had he?

''Stop it, you asshole.'' He snapped.

The older hunter searched through his pant's pocket.

''Look, I took a picture with my cell phone.'' Zero snatched the phone from Kaito's hand.

''….''

''Cute, eh? I was lying about taking a picture of you when you got kicked out of the infirmary- though I would have liked to take one- but you sure do look innocent when you sleep.''

''Kaito, you friggin stalker-ish teacher, you actually snapped a picture the other day while I was asleep.'' Zero managed, through gritted teeth.

His teacher merely shrugged. '' Well, doing crosswords was kinda boring; I took the liberty to explore a bit and ended up playing with my cell phone. See, I even have closer-ups. Female students paid a lot for them.''

In a burst of pure rage, telekinesis power blasted the cell phone in tiny bits of scrap metal and black plastic with a loud bang. It all fell slowly from his hand and formed a tiny pile on the floor, the dead corpse of Kaito's cell phone littering the ground pitifully. The angered vampire hunter achieved it by crushing the remains with his foot. Slowly, veryyy slowly, he raised his head and stared at his treacherous friend through a curtain of very abnormally sharp-looking metallic hair strands.

His voice resonated, laced with dark energy: '**'**_**Go. Before I decide to do the same to your head.**__''_

Trying not to show anything, his teacher only nodded once. ''Ha ha, sure.'' After a nervous look in his boss's direction, he fled the danger zone hurriedly.

His outburst passed, Zero went back on sipping his black coffee like nothing happened and decided to go take a look at the artillery division.

Kaito's conclusion: In the near future, it would be best not to forget that Kiryuu Zero was also worthy of being labeled ''_Extremely dangerous_''.

-CRACK conclusions-

Kaito's second conclusion: It had been also a good idea not to mention the pictures he had taken while Zero was showering. He didn't dare to think of what other body part the sliver-haired hunter could have crushed with his telekinesis. Especially since he sold some of the pictures to male students.

Kaito's third conclusion: Mmh, I should email some to Kuran, I'm sure it would be an appreciated gesture and earn me a lot of money.

/

/

/

Author's note: Oh well, I guess I'll see you next time guys. I'll try to do my best but I'm not really trustworthy when it comes to time limits,eh? Funnily enough, Eliza looked quite friendly in the first part of this chapter. Then, I noticed it and thought it wasn't sadistic enough and it worsened throughout the rest of the chapter xD. And the ''special'' part of the chapter increased as the story went on. Probably gave birth to some ooc- moments. Oh, and I was vaccinated two days ago but it didn't hurt much. I probably would have burst in tears if someone had punched a syringe in my arm. And hey, ''Blue cloud'' (you know who you are ^^), if you're reading this, don't worry, I just used the surname and added lots and lots of fictional sadistic traits around the bossy character. xD I hope you don't mind me going a bit crazy with ''Eliza'', it was a really fun character. Maybe she'll appear again later on.

Ooh, Kaito, you had to go and ruin the good mood of the chapter. I planned to make it look friendly, with Zero and you teasing each others back in forth as you left for the Artillery Division, but nooo, I had to have a twisted idea and make you push the teasing a little too far.

I think I made Kaito into some stingy character. As if he liked money. Whatever. So no, Kaito isn't really perverted, just trying to make money out of the situation. As for the crack part, it's not actually part of the real story line. Just some kind of side-dish for mischievous people like me. But maybe it really happened in my fanfic, who knows. Choose to believe it or not. As for which Kuran he mailed the pictures to...that's for you to decide. Yuuki or Kaname? xD

I should ask Kaito to send the pics to me too.

Don't forget to leave a review, it's always refreshing to have a talk with fellow fangirls (or boys!)


	11. Partners ? Yeah, right

01:06 Hiya...Ugh, school's been a bother these days, never enough time to write, draw or read. And lately, my plot's been full of hole that I must fill with new informations so that it all makes sense. I've been more and more disappointed with my writing style these days. I try to balance conversations with descriptive scenes and actions, but it always seem like I'm using excessively one or the other. Please tell me my flaws, so that I can try to balance it all. I'm too descriptive, huh? Probably...*yawns* Don't worry, next chap is all-out action. Thanks to all my reviewers for mental support, especially Awan and Lily. You keep me writing, girls ;P

Disclaimer: huff, if Vampire Knight characters were mine, then I wouldn't have made them so mysterious and dark.

* * *

/

/

/

_Where am I? _

_Where is Kaname? What is this place?_

_And why am I alone?_

_My head hurts again. It hurts just trying to think…_

''AH!'' Yuuki woke up with a start, fisting the bed covers in her trembling hands. She lifted a hand to her face, swiping away strands of soaked hair strands sticking to her fevered forehead. Her dazed eyes looked confusedly around the place, trying to make sense of her current situation.

She was lying in a large canopy bed, the white and red bed covers intertwined with her legs, result of an agitated sleep. The room was decorated in abundance; paintings decorating the four walls and the precious-looking auburn furniture were standing by the walls, empty. She knew they were empty because earlier she had searched every drawer in hope to get a clue on her aggressor, or a way out. She only had found a couple of blood pouches and some bread loaves. She had eaten them the first time she had awoken in that room, calming momentarily both kind of hunger. ''_How much time as it been since then?''_ She glanced at the walls but there was nothing to give the time, no window and no clock. She estimated that about 2 or 3 days had passed since her kidnapping, but she couldn't be sure. She had slept a lot, weakened by bloodlust and her injuries. And she was so **hungry**. She hadn't eaten since God knows when. So she slept most of the time, trying to shut the cries of the starving beast in her guts.

The young vampiress touched her neck, feeling the twin wounds standing out on her flawless skin. They hadn't healed yet; her system was too weak to completely ride her body from her wounds. Blood loss was making her particularly weak, but she sensed something else interrupting her healing process. She suspected that there was some drug in the food.

She licked her chapped lips. At least she had water and a toilet, behind the only door that could be opened. The other one was a big wooden locked door, sculpted vines growing around the doorframe, nothing she could normally blast with one telekinesis push. It was a pity she was so frail, in a state where even her pureblood status couldn't save her. She was no more powerful than a human girl, unarmed, clothed in a simple rumpled shirt and a pair of shorts. Banging on the door had done nothing. Her knuckles were still red from hitting the sturdy wood, skin raw and scrapped. Yelling to be answered hadn't done anything except irritating her throat. She was a prisoner, and nobody knew where she was. What a foolish idea to escape from the mansion. Trouble seemed to find her whenever she went outside.

It was so frustrating, condemned to wait for the door to open itself to either welcome the hand that would save her or the weapon that would kill her.

''_And I thought things were finally going to be right. I was wrong, so wrong.'' _she thought bitterly.

* * *

It was a cool summer night, the wind howling through the normally empty streets and sweeping past the paved roads. Black cars and vans were parked here and there; at proximity of Dahlia Academy's school ground. Most men were already at their position but not exactly ready to engage combat. As much as they had tried to keep things down and be as secretive as possible, they were already attracting too much attention. They had had to block the streets, forming a perimeter forbidden for unconcerned civilians and hunters had to explain the reason as to why they were blocking access to that particular zone. The cover story was that someone had signaled a gas leak in the area and that they had to evacuate the school. Students would be evacuated and families should just stay out of it to leave the specialists handle it. That part was true, at least. They had already released some human students after altering their memories, allowing them to go back home. Vampires still hadn't shown themselves, watching the commotion from behind the school's bricked gate, but he would see to that himself.

'' What's the situation with the civilians?'' Zero asked. The answer came immediately after from the small black earpiece, their method of communication between team captains. The device worked like a more sophisticated version of a talkie-walkie, the messages conveyed on a scripted radio frequency.

'' Captain of team A, Tsuguchi Akainu, reporting. We're done with the civilians. Sakamoto-san is handling the officials and authorities, we shouldn't have any problem with them tonight. I send some of my men scouring the territory but they didn't spot any abnormalities. Team B and D are also ready to begin the operation, the medics are finishing the installation of their machines. The sector his safe. We'll be keeping guard for any escaping vampires. Terminated. '' The teen nodded in approval before remembering that the man couldn't see him. '' Good, I'll call back if I have new instructions.'' A small beeping noise signaled that someone else was trying to communicate with him.

''Kiryuu talking.''

He heard some static noise, then the rustling of clothes caused by frustrated movements followed by tapping sounds against the earpieces and grunting. ''Hey, stupid disciple, did you see Kaito? I had something to give him before the battle but I lost sight of him when we arrived.''

'' He's with me. We're near the school 's main gates, dealing with the last preparations.''

''- krstztch…I'm coming then. I just have to deal with…krrr'' The rest of the sentence was lost but Zero caught some swearing and thumping noises before the communication was cut.

''Hey, Shishou's coming, he said he had something to give you.'' he told Kaito, who was climbing back down from the bricked fence. The ash-haired hunter landed on his feet, agile as a cat, and walked to his student, grinning in humor. ''Hah, I hope it's not a punch in the face for not looking after you like a good sitter ought to.''

Zero glared at the older man but didn't bite the bait. It would only please Kaito more if he argued back for calling himself his babysitter. He checked Bloody Rose's bullet chamber one last time before hooking it into his shoulder holster, next to some clips of anti-vampire ammunition he got from the armory. The silver chain jingled as the gun was shoved under a light coat. Dressed in black, he blended well with the shadows and the night sky. He glanced back at the hunters preparing behind him. Most only awaited an order, standing in the street with hands on their gun or sword. They were quite a menacing bunch. The silver-haired man spun around when he sensed his Master's presence.

'' That's quite an assembly that you reunited here. Rare were the times when I saw this many hunter working on one goal. Let's hope you'll be able to keep us together before we get in a ''every man for himself'' situation.'' Yagari lighted a cigarette as he spoke, scanning the crowd of armed men. ''Here, catch.'' He threw a small object at Kaito who caught it in reflex, his exercised fingers closing around the small device.

The young teacher immediately recognized it. ''Why are you giving me a communication earpiece? Aren't they only for team captains, Zero and you?''

The veteran hunter tilted his head back, exhaling a small cloud of smoke. '' Hhn, I can't make it work right. You might as well take it, it's of no use for me.''

''Neat.'' Kaito tweaked the black earpiece and attached it to his ear. Zero shot a look of warning at the hunter and reminded him of his precarious position. '' Be careful not to give me a reason to crush that gadget like I did with your cell phone, understood?''

You could almost see the aureole and the angel wings when Kaito flashed a sly smile to Zero, which was meant to appear innocent but looked nothing like it. '' What bad mischief could I do with an earpiece? Don't be so paranoiac. '' Kaito's nonchalance was rubbing Zero the wrong way and the teen was tempted to wrap his hands around his teacher's neck and squeeze until he turned purple.

Yagari didn't get it all but understood that his former apprentice had some personal grudge against the ash-haired hunter.

''And here's for you.'' He faced his younger student, handing over small bags of something red.

Zero eyed the blood bags warily before shaking his head in refusal. ''I'm not taking them.''

The one-eyed man continued: '' I know you won't. That's for the girl, when you find her. She'll probably be thirsty after being held captive by those vamps and she could be wounded. The Devilish Ice Queen gave them to me just in case. Better take precautions.''

Purple eyes scanned the bags once more before reluctantly taking them, putting them inside his coat. He had to agree to the logic of his mentor.

''Fine. We're almost ready, let's gather teams C, E and F and then we'll begin the operations.'' He was going to make a call to the team captains when he spotted a commotion among the hunters at the far end of the group gathered in front of the gates. He scanned the perimeter with his hunter senses and quickly identified the cause of the agitation. _So he actually showed up._ His teeth gritted in anger, he stalked toward the vampires. He didn't have to shove people out of the way because they instinctively made space for him to come through.

Stopped at the barrier they had placed at one end of the street was a sleek black limo, windows shaded but the identity of the one inside was quite obvious. The chauffeur, a bald vamp with shades, opened the passenger's door and bowed his head as the vampire came out of the car.

''Kuran.''

The young pureblood immediately noticed the hunter glaring at him and coldly acknowledged the youth with a slight nod. No need to make a scene in front of all those hunters.

'' Kiryuu..-san.'' He allowed himself a thin smile, sure to annoy his silver-haired nemesis. '' Your secretary kindly told me where you were but I didn't expect to see all this commotion. Are you perhaps ambushing me?''

The young president shook his head. '' Sadly, not yet.'' What was meant to sound almost funny to others was said without an ounce of humor. Glancing around the crowd of equally wary and curious hunters, he tilted his head on the side, indicating an empty alley.

'' Let's do personal business …away from prying eyes.'' He shot a look at the other hunters, daring them to disobey and follow. At them, he said loud enough for everyone to hear: '' We'll be going in five minutes, top. I'm sure you all have something to do till then.''

Nobody moved at first, but slowly, people began to disperse, glancing back at them from time to time but overall, they stopped paying a special attention to them. Kaito was clearly in disapproval with this decision but didn't speak and kept his distances, letting them go. Yagari's burning cigarette was only a small glow in the darkness when the two vampires left the street.

* * *

Alone in the alley, their respective ''politeness'' was dropped as soon as they were away from people. In once swift movement, Kaname had Zero against the wall, one hand squeezing his windpipe. Stones were being crushed against the pressure, the hard parts pressing in the hunter's back painfully. In return, the Bloody Rose's muzzle stabbed the pureblood's chest, right over the heart.

Uncaring of the metallic mouth of the gun, Kaname's face drew near Zero's, their nose almost touching. Burgundy eyes stared into silvery-purple eyes as they looked at each other with scorn, teeth bared. Zero could actually smell the breath of the other vampire, cool and minty.

'' Where is she?'' Kaname hissed. ''What did you do to her? ''

''Keh, old habits die hard, huh? It's like that time at the academy all over again.'' Zero managed to say, Kaname's claw digging in his neck. Small trails of blood trickled down, tainting the shirt underneath his coat.

'' Answer me. I'm not in the mood for this, I've been searching for her during 2 days consecutively. I know she's alive, I can feel it. Aidou told me everything and his punition will be nothing compared to what I'm going to do to you.'' He whispered sensually, his voice as cold and menacing as a snake. ''To think that she allowed your filthy fangs to bite her pristine neck…'' He added, two sharp canines showing in his mouth. His mouth neared the ivory column where was engraved the hunter symbol, only breaths away from having a taste of the hunter's alluring blood.

Zero's breath hitched at the closeness, sensing fear gain him as he remembered the last vampire who had bitten him. He wanted to get the predator away so badly, only his tight self-control over his instincts preventing him from shaking to the touch of _**that beast. **_

He twisted in the pureblood's strong grip, managing to get the vampire's face away from his neck by shoving the gun's muzzle hard against Kaname's chest but not able to make the elongated nails release their hold. ''Bastard, get off me before I shoot, I don't care if it alerts everyone. She's in probably in that school so-''

''She's inside?'' An unusual flicker of surprise passed through his eyes but his tone was mistrustful.

'' Probably. Now let go.'' He gave a strong shove with his arms and Kaname, seemingly having calmed down a bit, finally retracted his nails. The slashes on his neck faded, leaving only five angry red marks. ''You heal slowly.'' Kaname remarked. ''Not your business.'' Zero replied sharply, putting his distances between him and the unusually worked up vampire. He wasn't going to let him close again. He looked up and down at his archenemy and noticed several anomalies, making it obvious to trained eyes that the pureblood was agitated, clearly worried for the sake of his sister _and_ wife. The silver-haired teen then explained the operation to the vampire. He made it short, knowing they hadn't much time for all this.

Once Zero was done, Kaname passed a hand through his slightly messy brown locks, thinking. Looking up to the hunter, he voiced his thoughts: ''The room she's locked in must be guarded by powerful hunter charms or something of the sort since I couldn't sense her. I guess hunter origins can be useful in that case.'' He sighed. Reluctant, he added: '' We'll need to team up.''

Zero's eyes widened but his momentary surprise quickly morphed into outrage.

'' No way. No fucking way am I getting help from you. I only let you on the situation so that you wouldn't screw it all by meddling in it. It was only a matter of time before your loyal followers put their nose in hunter things.'' Arms crossed, the HA president leaned onto the damaged stone wall, gun still in hand.

'' You can't undo those spells if a pureblood is involved in the kidnapping. Even for you, the number of enemies would be overwhelming and they'd have enough time to relocate Yuuki to another place before you even got to the school's basement. I can buy some time for you to sneak in.''

''I'll manage alone. I don't want your help.'' was the immediate reply.

Something dangerous flashed in Kaname's eyes. '' Don't misunderstand me, I'm not helping **you**. I'm only making sure my wife returns safely to my side.'' Zero felt a stab to his heart when he heard the word ''wife'' coming from pureblood's lips.

''I hate you.'' His deep tenor vibrated with barely contained hatred. It could have sounded like something a spoiled brat would say after losing an argument but it was the plain truth. Kaname's name was enough to make him seethe, his sight alone turned his eyes alight with rage and the knowledge that he had the love of the only woman he ever held in his heart…

His finger caressed the trigger of the Bloody Rose, itching to fire it at the other man.

''As I do. But that reason alone doesn't justify your refusal. I think you're well aware of the danger your men will encounter by going against a pureblood vampire or the danger you put Yuuki in.''

He let the hunter think this over. Obviously, the teen couldn't find a reason outside of their mutual hatred to refuse the offer. ''…fine. I'll do it…''

''_..because you still love her.'' _Kaname completed in his head. The emotional bond between the hunter kid and his sister could be a real bother but it had its uses.

''..but I won't be used anymore, we'll make it my way.I'll bring _her _back and you can take her away once it's done.'' Zero completed. '' Don't mess with my men and don't call your lackeys, the Council would get news of the pureblood kidnapping soon enough and it would only complicate everything.'' The young hunter had taken its decision, he'd scrap aside his personal matters and would concentrate on the success of the mission.

No one could order a pureblood to do _anything_, even less a ex-human hunter, but Kaname let it slip just this once. Kiryuu always had been rude and disrespectful of the vampire etiquette and the hunter's help was necessary this time again.

''I agree.''

Using telekinesis to blast a hole next to Zero's head, he crushed the stone like it was nothing as a last warning. '' Once she's safely rescued, I'll make sure you don't approach her again, you only bring her trouble and worry.''

Zero hadn't reacted at the threat, only tilting his head a bit to avoid the impact of invisible force. No reply was needed. These were things he already knew.

Nothing else was said as they walked out of the alley. Zero tugged at the collar of his coat to hide the laceration marks, his finger lingering against the hunter tattoo where he had almost gotten bitten again.

''_ When he had me against the wall, I thought about shooting him but I couldn't. I...hesitated against the enemy. What's happening to me? The Kuran blood...''_

Shaking his head in contempt, he could only hope that it didn't mean anything.

/

/

/

Author's note: I noticed I'm doing exactly like with the manga. You know, we can only guess both boys feeling with their actions and what they say. We don't have any ''inward reflections'' in italic, like we had at the beginning of the manga. Actually, only Yuuki seems to be still doing that, and she does it even less than in the first chapters. Zero's being especially difficult, hiding away his feelings and only keeping hatred and anger. I look forward to get back with Yuuki's pov once she's rescued, to talk about emotions, and hopefully, more cheerful ones.

Look forward in the next chapter for a full-blown fight! ;P


	12. Small scale war part 1

16:25 Argh. So sorry. I'm in vacation (camping) and I hoped I could write a lot more but it's been so sunny outside, I always had something else to do (drawing, reading, etc). Will you ever forgive me for delaying this chapter? ;_; The good news are that I've been writing non-stop since the last few days because it's been raining. So I had this giant chapter and cut it in two. Or maybe three, depending on wether I had more things or my imagination dry up. This is the first part, anyway. Second will be released...in one or two days, giving me the time to edit it and correct things.

Okay, on another subject. For those of you who've been following the manga's scanlations online, you know about Sara's blood tablets...**?%$%!** Well, it's been in my plot line for **A WHOLE YEAR** and I didn't write fast enough to fully introduce it in my story. (slipping bits here and there about mutant vampires and Sara buying pharmaceutical companies) Since Sara bit that director of a pharmaceutical company, that idea has been in my head and I wrote it down on my plot sheet( scrap paper with words written here and there). So yeah. I guessed a year ago what would happen now. I swear it. '_'Croix de bois, croix de fer, si je mens je vais en enfer''_. Maybe I'm not the only one who foresaw that. Now all of you know it's in the story now. Hn. My tablets probably don't have the same effect than those in the manga anyway.

Good reading, and again, sorry for the long delay. Watch out because this week I'll post at least one other chapter.

* * *

/

/

/

It was a cold night, the dark sky dimly lit by a few stars. The moon was bright and watching indifferently the agitation of men, men who were preparing to fight against creatures of the night. It was a perfect time for the hunt, for the kill. The goddess of the hunt was watching it all from above and her light traced the silhouette of two men talking by the gates of the school. Of similar height and wearing long trench coats, they both talked quietly not to be overheard by the other hunters in the vicinity. A third one, half a head taller than the other two joined the conversation while lighting what was probably his third cigarette that night.

''So, basically, you're telling me that Kuran Kaname and you had a friendly talk which ended up in some kind of alliance between him and us for the sake of saving Kuran Yuuki from Shirabuki Sara's wicked claws, even though you're **dying** to put a bullet in his head. Am I right?''

Kaito sent a glance toward the pureblood standing a few meters away while he talked; clearly not bothered by the knowledge that said pureblood had heard everything.

Zero sighed in discouragement at his teacher's way of putting things. '' It was not exactly 'friendly', but it's true that we'll have to take in consideration that we have a pureblood vampire on our side, temporarily.''

Another heavy sigh, this one from Yagari. A puff of smoke escaped his lips as he did so, winding up like a grey snake.

''Great, as if things weren't complicated enough. Well, we might want to end the mission quickly so everyone can hope to catch some Z's. I'm gonna make sure everything's ready.'' He left both hunters in front of the gates, looking quite annoyed with the presence of a vampire in their ranks if his furrowed eyebrows and the way he was biting the end of his cigarette were any indication. The two pupils were left to follow with their eyes the tattered cowboy hat, which bobbed away in the crowd. Kaito's eyes went back to stare at Zero's pale face.

Kaito cleared his throat and frowned at Zero. ''Anyway, I meant to ask earlier in private but there's always someone with you so I waited…'' he paused, not sure how to say it. ''It's just that you never told anyone about…'' He went silent.

''When you shot me?'' guessed Zero.

Looking uncomfortable, Kaito avoided Zero's eyes and started playing with one of his daggers, passing it back and forth between his hands. ''Yeah, that. I'll back you up during the operation since I have to keep an eye on you, but aren't you worried that this time you get this'' -he waved the dagger in his hand- '' in your back this time? Not that I mean to but it's been bothering me for a while: I don't understand why I shot you, even my memory of that moment seems blurry.''

'' I didn't tell anyone about it because I'm persuaded that you never meant to kill me that day.'' The silver-haired hunter declared.

'' You can't be serious.'' He shook his head in disbelief. '' You don't trust me enough for that.''

''True, I don't trust you completely.'' Zero agreed. ''But, I'm sure I can trust your words when you say you'd kill me if I ever attacked you. You couldn't have wanted to kill me that evening since I was the one being attacked.''

Kaito looked relieved to hear that, getting that Zero was implying that he didn't hold it against his teacher. ''Oh, so you remember my warning. Good thing for you. I guess I was unfocused when I shot at your attackers, it was all just an unfortunate accident.''

'' Admit that you're just a poor shooter if you have managed to shot your ally when he was trapped between a bunch of vampire schoolgirls.''

''Err, yeah, that's why I fight with an arsenal of close-range weapons. Gun bullets just seem like such an inaccurate and impersonal way to end a vampire's life. Don't you agree that guns either makes you look like an outdated cowboy like sensei or a trigger-happy fanatic in your case? '' He scratched his hair and grinned, obviously back to his normal, annoying self.

''Watch it, _sensei_. '' The way the last word was pronounced was particularly venomous. '' On a more serious note, I think one of those vampire must have had particular powers and-''

Right at that moment, a loud bang interrupted the activity of the hunters standing outside the schools gates and every one of them turned their head toward the school's main doors, past an alley of trees on each side of the pathway. Someone making a run to the exterior had pushed the big doors open. The tiny figure was running with the energy of desperate causes, her panicked cries reaching the ears of the hunters standing outside the fences a few hundreds of meters away, ''Help me, someone, please! They've captured us all in the auditorium and they'll kill us! Aaaah!''

The girl tripped on the paved alley and fell down hard, scrapping palms and knees. The scent of the blood was obviously human. Breaking down sobbing and sniveling, she tried to get up once again to escape her pursuers but a great shadow leaped from inside the school and pinned her to the ground. It then bit savagely in her neck whilst the girl scream of terror pierced the silence.

One bang later, a bullet hitting violently in his shoulder threw the vampire backward. Red tinted its eyes and its mouth, mixed blood and saliva dribbling down on the pavement when it let out a feral hiss at his shooter. It flashed its wicked-sharp fangs when it licked the blood off its lips. Madness seemed to have taken hold of its mind when its maniacal laugh echoed in the night.

_Level E madness._

His gun's muzzle still smoking and pointed at the crazed vampire, Zero motioned to Kaito to open the gates at once. His fingers brushed away his silver hair and pressed a button on his black earpiece.

''The beast has shown its fangs, it is time for us to hunt.'' The young president said to the team captains.

'' If what that girl was saying is true, our new priority is rescuing the human students in the auditorium in the western wing of the academy and putting an end to every hostile vampires. Yagari Toga will be in charge of the rescuing operation. I will search for Kuran Yuuki myself. End of the message.''

''Roger!'' they all replied.

''I'm backing you up!'' added Kaito, using his own communication device.

The gates were pushed open and the hunters invaded the school ground quickly toward the enemies who showed themselves at the school doors and at the windows. Both forces clashed midway to the doors: fangs versus blades and immortals versus mortals. Detonations of firearms exploded here and there, nails clawed through flesh and blades ran through bodies in what seemed like utter chaos. The men yelled injures at the beasts while the vampires growled and shrieked in hate. Bodies dropped to the ground amongst the ashes of their enemies, but most immediately picked themselves up to continue their fight or dragged themselves out of the carnage in search of the medics. Zero advanced in that dangerous tempest of bodies and weapons swinging around him rapidly. More than once an ally's sword missed slashing his arm off or a lost bullet swept past his ear. More and more level E vampires jumped out from the windows and joined the growing mass of fighters. If the hunters outnumbered the vampires at the beginning of the fight, the odds were now fifty-fifty and it was shifting in favor of the nightly creatures.

Zero was glad to see that none of them had suddenly developed intelligence and common sense; the level E's were all still driven by killing instincts. His blood was pumping in his body, all his hunter training taking over in the midst of the fight. Hunter and vampire senses on high alert, he focused on always moving forward, perceiving the incoming attacks and aiming for the vampires' vital points.

_Dodge_

He sidestepped to avoid a deadly slash to his breast.

_Break its guard_

He hurled forward and his fist sank in the monster's stomach, making it double over in pain and fall down on the ground in a heap of worn-out clothes.

_Aim for the heart_

The Bloody Rose's muzzle was lowered toward the beast writhing in pain. Its red eyes were a blazing inferno of hate and want, not unlike his when he was possessed by bloodlust. It hissed loudly, showing his lengthened fangs protruding from his lower lip.

_Pull the trigger and_

_**KILL IT.**_

_Bang!_

The purple seal of the Goddess of the hunt sizzled on the beast's breast where blood spurted before its body dissolved into ashes. Another vampire slashed at the arm holding the gun, piercing the skin and making some blood drip on the ground. The level E woman cackled in pleasure and licked the blood on her hand. She seemed surprised at the taste. ''Aren't you with us-''

_Shut up!_

_Bang!_

Another one showed up. _''Traitor!'' _it had the time to hiss, its face distorted with rage.

_Shut up! I was never with you and never will be!_

_Bang!_

Shooting them down one after the other, Zero entered the school soon after the first hunters who had reached the entrance and were making their way to the western wing. He'd only received minor wounds on his shoulder and leg except for a deep claw mark on his arm, which was already starting to heal. _The drugs that devil woman gave me are working, I'm only slightly winded. I'll just have to watch out for the aftereffects and avoid using the Bloody Rose's vines._

Kaito was following him closely, cradling his right arm to his chest with his left, blood seeping through the sleeve of his coat. '' My sutured wound reopened. Shit, Elisa will butcher me'', he explained when he saw Zero looking at the bloodstain.

The young hunter looked around the hall, trying to figure out a way down to the basement. ''I studied this place's map beforehand but it didn't show any lower level or a way to reach it. We'll have to look around for a secret entrance'', he told Kaito. His partner was ripping a piece of clothing and tying it around his right arm to stop the blood flow so Zero made use of that time to inspect his Bloody Rose. He opened the gun's chamber and looked in his coat for a pack of new bullets.

Hunters continued passing them, sometimes acknowledging with a nod their president, running toward the West wing or stopping in the hall for a reload or to catch their breath.

While he reloaded the Bloody Rose with ammo, Kaname Kuran silently appeared to their side, unscathed and perfectly fine. He didn't seem to have fought hand to hand with the vampires since he was cleaner than any of the fighters on the battlefield, not a speck of blood staining his hands or his clothes. The pureblood's expression stayed unperturbed by the sight of blood on the hunters. The sound of battling men and vampires alike didn't seem to bother him and he pointed to the end of the hall. '' I can now sense her despite the hunter charms. We must go right at the end of the hallway and continue east.''

He didn't look disturbed by the scent of blood while Zero's vampire senses were going wild with the smell, which only made him hate the pureblood more. Already, he could sense that his purple eyes held a hint of red in them because the blood on Kaito's sleeve looked more vivid to him than the usual dark burgundy of a blood-soaked material.

''Follow me.'' He swiftly went that way, silent as a ghost. Grunting, the hunters trailed after him for they had no other clue about the pureblood's wife location.

* * *

The room was plunged in the darkness, everything now dyed of the same coal black hue except for the red orbs glaring at the ceiling. Lying in her bed, her short hair in disarray, she was trying to listen to the agitation she could sense upstairs. It was faint, but she thought she had heard multiple gunshots. It sounded very far away from where she was.

She thought she also heard footsteps approaching but she couldn't be sure.

_Knock knock_.

'' Miss, are you awake? I brought you medicine'', said a feminine voice from outside the room's door.

_Huh? What is this about?_ She sat up in the bed and listened intently to the voice, head turned toward the door.

''I-hum'', Yuuki cleared her throat and tried again, '' Yes, I'm awake,'' she told the voice.

''O-oh! Great, I'll open the door then.'' The voice seemed fairly surprised to hear someone reply.

She heard a metallic rattle and then the sound of someone introducing a key in the doorknob. Reacting quickly, Yuuki jumped off her bed and flattened herself against the wall, next to the door. She suppressed the bloodlust in her eyes to look more human. She was ready to bolt out at the slightest chance; she only needed the girl to open the door…

The door opened as someone was entering and she took that chance to leap out of her prison cell but she rammed into an obstacle. Sparks flew out when she hit that invisible wall and she was projected backward, falling down on the ground. She wasn't alone on the floor; the person she had pushed aside in her escape attempt was rubbing her elbow and letting out a small plaintive noise. A small metal tray lied face down in a water puddle, with glass shards around it and two white pills semi-dissolved in the water, accompanied by a soaked sandwich.

Yuuki was feeling that weird, painful tingle all over her body, like that time when she was a kid and had touched the electrical socket while unplugging a functioning toaster in Cross's kitchen. Or more recently, when she had put her hands on the Artemis and the Bloody Rose.

''Owie, what was that for?'' the girl, obviously a student, stood up slowly and looked at the fallen tray. ''What a mess! And I had warned you too that I was coming in.'' Short blond hair, brown eyes and medium height, she was your average, typical human girl.

She wasn't alone. Another girl, slightly taller with medium length black hair, was standing outside the room, watching quietly what had just happened. ''Watch it, Haru-chan, there are glass shards around your feet. You too, miss. Be careful.'' Her voice was soft and calm, she sounded like she just woke up from a very deep sleep.

Yuuki got up, rubbing her head with her hand where she could already sense a bump where she had hit it on the invisible wall. The other girls didn't seem to have noticed the cause of her discomfort or the small white sparks running around the doorframe.

''Haru-chan, go find a broom and dustpan to pick up the mess. Bring back a glass of water, I'll find new medicine, ''she continued in the same drowsy tone.

The young girl named Haru looked at Yuuki, then back at the mess. ''What a shame for the sandwich. I'll clean it up first and will make a new one afterward, okay?'' she asked, smiling shyly at Yuuki who nodded mechanically in response. She then carefully avoided the shards, went out in the hallway and disappeared out of sight. The other student stood unmoving, watching the girl jogging away before reporting her attention back to the pureblood glaring at her. Now that they were alone, Yuuki clearly sensed that the black-haired girl was a vampire.

Pulling out her best ''I-am-a-vampire-queen-and-you-will-obey-me'' look, which wasn't that intimidating, she ordered the vampire to answer her questions. '' Let me out and explain to me what is going on outside and why I was imprisoned in this room.'' With the door open, she could clearly hear the detonations with her vampire hearing.

''I cannot free you because I am not a hunter, hence I cannot destroy the spell keeping you inside, but I can answer your questions. Level E's in the auditorium have attacked this school's human students while they were watching a theater play. Sara-sama had stayed in her suit for tea that night and she is now waiting there for her own safety. I believe she also asked her friends to protect the humans and keep the level E's at bay until help was sent.''

Yuuki looked dubiously at the vampire and asked her what she was doing here instead of helping out the human students.

''I, along with Haru-chan, didn't attend the play because Sara-sama had asked us to prepare her tea and to give you this.''

She pulled out a box from her skirt's side pocket and threw it inside the room to Yuuki who caught it with one hand. The box rattled when she caught it. She opened it a bit and saw that it was filled with oblong-shapped white pills.

''Sara-sama contacted me with her spider avatar and ordered me to protect Haru and keep her out of harm's way. That is why we will stay underground for now. The noise you hear is that of the hunters who came to save the students and are fighting the level E's.'' The vampire's voice was ticking Yuuki off. It was annoying, like she was some kind of robot and was repeating someone else's words in a monotone speech.

It took her a moment to digest that information and new questions popped up in her mind.'' Why did you imprison me then? I don't even remember ending up in your school. What school is it anyway?''

The vampire answered. ''You are in Dahlia Girl Academy. Sara-sama found you lying unconscious in a street and brought you here to prevent other vampires of taking your blood. You were in a state of weakness and great bloodlust so we had to restrain you here in case you attacked the human students. I beg your pardon in Sara-sama's stead if your stay in that room caused you discomfort in any way, Yuuki-sama, '' she bowed in apology , ''Once the danger is cleared, we'll immediately contact your husband so he can send an escort and bring you back home.''

Yuuki was listening to it all and couldn't find anything hostility in her host's intention even thought she smelt that there was something fishy. Sara had always been curt and amiable when she attended vampire soirees but her silky voice and gentle eyes reminded Yuuki of some documentaries she watched in the Chairman's living room about wildlife. Deceivingly beautiful animals, but so deathly. Like those flashy-colored frogs in Amazonia. Something was off with Sara's intentions but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

''...Why don't you just go find a hunter and bring him here to free me from this spell?''

She shook her head. ''I cannot leave Haru-chan unprotected or bring her with me upstairs if there's a chance that her blood is spilled by doing so.''

''Haru-chan…is your friend?'' asked Yuuki, doubtful. She didn't question the fact that a vampire and a human could be friend since she also maintained such a relationship with Yori, but that vampire didn't look like she really liked Haru in that way.

A sweet smile stretched on the vampire's lips, which made Yuuki frown at. She looked malicious; revealing that the kindness she seemed to have was all but a bluff.

''Wouldn't it be a shame to spill her sweet blood when she is not yet rip?'' Yuuki could see the elongated canines in that smile, touching the lower lip. A surge of anger went to Yuuki's brain, blurring her mind, and she lunged at the smug vampire, nails out, only to be repelled again by the electric barrier. She hissed at the pain, which had amplified tenfold by that second attack, sparks coursing through her arms. The first time was only a warning, she felt much worse after her second attempt to cross the barrier.

Looking down at Yuuki with contempt, the black haired vampire laughed derisively.

''Look at yourself, giving in to ungraceful emotions and losing your temper. You act like a former human. Maybe that's why your parents tried to hide you for so long, you make such a disappointing pureblood,'' she cackled.

Yuuki was lost for words. Never had a vampire shown such disrespect and insulted her since she took her place in the vampire society. Sure, they treated her like a child but it was the first time someone told her to her face that she wasn't fit for her role. And that hurt her more than she would have liked to admit.

At that moment, Haru came back with the broom and dustpan and picked up the glass carefully, leaving Yuuki with no other choice but to clamp her mouth shut on her retort.

She also handed Yuuki a glass filled with water. ''So you can take the pills,'' she explained. She avoided looking in the pureblood's eyes, intimidated by her angry look. Yuuki took the glass, her fingers still shaking slightly with pain and frustration, and resumed watching the girl pick up the sharp pieces on the floor. She was inside the room, to her mercy. It was the perfect moment to show how wrong that vampire had been. She could act like a ruthless pureblood vampire. She could warp her fingers around her fragile neck and take her hostage until the vampire brought her back a hunter to destroy the spell. She could break her skin with her nails to intimidate her. She could…

…but she couldn't. She couldn't harm an innocent, be he human or vampire, even though she now had the power needed to do so. She didn't have the heart to hurt an innocent. No, that's because she had a heart that she couldn't bring herself to sacrifice Haru's life. So she watched her clean up silently until she left to throw away the broken glass.

The vampire followed after her, not before adding in an amused voice ''Stay put, princess Yuuki. Sara-sama has already arranged for a _prince_ to rescue you.'' Not even bothering to close the door, she left Yuuki with that hint on the course of events.

The door was left wide open for Yuuki to see the corridor, but she was still prisoner of the hunter charms. She glared in frustration at the wall that she couldn't see and couldn't help thinking bitter thoughts that lead her nowhere.

''_If I had been human, I could have walked out of the room already.''_

_/_

_/_

_/_

Author's note: I must confide that I've been reading Dracula and Hellsing when I wrote the first part. The fight outside was much more bloody than now because people kept dying and yaddayadda, in a very Alucard-way (for those who read Hellsing, that's a real bloodbath). Hum. Afterward I just modified it to make a lot of hunters wounded, not dead. Good for them. As for the Dracula influence, hum, I sometimes write like in the book. Like, with very old expressions. Everyone is very curt and polite in the book. Well, this is a old novel, I recommend it to anyone who likes vampires in their original, evil form(non-sparkling).

Yes, I know. Yuuki needs again someone to free her. That's my fault. She ain't that weak, it's just that I needed her imprisoned. If she had been able to free herself, it would have been too easy on Zero and Kaname.

See you real soon, I'll wait a day or two before posting part 2.

Don't forget to review, that will boost my moral and maybe I'll be able to write a third part.^^


	13. Small scale war part 2

16:21 Hello again, guys! Like I promised, I present to you the 2nd part of this chapter. Two ''chapters'' in two days; I hope it will content you, hungry readers, because it may take a while until I release the third part. I still didn't write it, but keep hope; I'm alone with my sis and dad for 3 days and my friends all went back home for a few days so I'll be able to write in peace (maybe). Anyway, there's a lot of complicated stuff in this chapter, and there will be in the next and I need to figure it all out before I trip over my own feets (meaning: I mix things up and impossible things happen). It gives me an headache, and that's why I don't feel very motivated to write the next part.

Mmmh, 'bout this chapter, I don't know why but I pictured Dahlia Academy like very big, and it somehow evolved from ''very big school''-size to ''castle''-size. I know, ignore my defective imagination. Just, just imagine it's a very big rich school. Oh, and I'm a sadist writer who enjoys hurting her fav characters, be warned.

Good reading!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, and that's why life sucks. Kidding xD (about the -life suck- thing, of course)

* * *

/

/

/

Zero and Kaito were running along the corridors, making sharp turns and skidding on the expensive marble floor of the hallways to keep up with Kaname's rapid and fluid strides. More than once did the hunters think they had actually lost the pureblood lord, who seemed to be following a trail only visible to him, before catching sight of the vampire standing at a crossroad, waiting for them, before starting to run once again.

The school was a gigantesque building; separated into four wings with a great number of classrooms in each one, soundproof music rooms, 2 gymnasiums, an auditorium and numerous other rooms. And of course, most of them where locked at nighttime. It would take forever to explore the whole school, looking for a door probably hidden that would lead to Yuuki. Even if Kaname Kuran's pureblood senses were a great help in the search- even Zero had to reluctantly give him that- they could end up directly over Yuuki's location with still no way down. And yes, Kaname's telekinesis could probably blast the marble to smithereens to get down to her room, but that would bring the whole floor down on her as well.

Sorting out the possibilities of rescue in his head as he ran, the young hunter didn't notice the incoming blond bullet on his right only when it was too late. He tried to warn his partner following closely but only managed to get out of the way before a certain Takuma Ichijo ran into Kaito. Both fell down hard when they collided, Takuma managing to soften his impact with the ground by raising his arms before his face with vampire speed and landing on Kaito's back with a _thump_.

When he fell, Kaito's hand grabbed in reflex the hem of Zero's coat, halting the sprinting hunter brutally by tripping him forward. He hit the polished stone head first with a loud bang that echoed across the corridor, making the pureblood running ahead halt and look back. The whole incident was sure to be heard by anyone standing in the vicinity, what's with the angry hunter complaining about a bruised back -and ego- and the vampire on top apologizing profusely.

_Oww, what the hell?_

Zero opened his eyes gingerly, not even remembering having closed them in the first place. The blow had knocked him out but not for long. Still lying down on the cold stone, he felt his face carefully with one hand, finding his forehead sticky with his own blood. The smear of blood on the marble, right under his nose, smelt of copper and didn't start any hunger . Kaito crouched beside him and looked down with a worried look on his face.

''How many fingers?'' he held out his hand before Zero's face, frowning at all the blood running down the blue purple-ish bruise and long bleeding gash on his partner's forehead.

''Uh..wait,'' Wiping out the blood dripping in his eyes with his sleeve, Zero focused his blurry vision on the fingers standing up. ''Three.''

Kaito nodded; glad to see that the young man wouldn't be out of the game so soon. ''Correct. Here, I'll help you up.'' Zero grabbed Kaito's outstretched hand gratefully and stood up with him, swaying a bit on his feet but staying upright.

''Wow,'' the older hunter said, surprised, '' your skull is harder than stone. If it had been me, I think my head would have split open like an overripe watermelon.''

Ignoring the nasty image forming in his head at Kaito's words, the silver haired youth looked down and saw that he had ''head butted'' the ground so hard that the marble was webbed with cracks, along with a small splatter of blood. ''_Well, hurray for vampire genetics,'' _he thought with bitter sarcasm_ ''Now I can add that to my list of 'proofs-that-I'm-really-a-freak-of-nature'. ''_ Of course, he didn't _really_ keep such a list.

When he saw Kaito looking over at him with concern, he told him that he felt okay to continue the mission. '' It bleeds a lot but it's just a cut. I don't have a concussion, I think. Probably just a bad headache tomorrow morning.''

More blood dribbled down his face and he lifted his arm again to wipe it away. It didn't look like it would magically heal. _''For once I wish my cursed abilities would kick in.''_

''You can use that to clean it up,'' Takuma Ichijo handed him apologetically a white cotton handkerchief. Seeing Kaito glaring at him, he added '' I'm very sorry for the trouble I caused, Kiryuu-kun. I saw you and your friend and tried to stop but the floor was much more slippery than I first thought.''

He then bowed slightly to Zero and Kaito, gaining no notable reaction from both hunters. Zero was still confused and trying to grasp what had just happened so Takuma's voice didn't register immediately.

Kaito only snorted, not wanting to acknowledge immediately the genuine guilt in the vampire's voice. ''That's why us teachers always tell you over and over not to run in the corridors.''

Takuma hadn't known that the hunter with messy hair was a teacher but concealed his surprise with a smile.

''But you were running too, sensei,'' he pointed out, still smiling.

Sensei chose wisely and decided not to answer back.

Zero looked over Takuma's shoulder and saw long black skid marks marring the shining floor from the hallway where the vampire came out.

''_Stupid rich people with their damn fetish of over polished stone floor,''_ he cursed in his head.

He took the offered tissue and cleaned the blood away, soiling it, and then making a gesture of handing it back before Takuma stopped him. ''Keep it, I think you'll need it more than me,'' he then looked quizzically at the horizontal cut over the hunter's eyebrow, '' Isn't it supposed to close already?''

''You noticed too, Takuma,'' a smooth voice answered before Zero, who actually had no intention of answering the rhetorical question but now scowled at the newest arrival for butting in. The pureblood had walked silently to stand beside his friend. '' But I think Kiryuu-kun doesn't want us to inquire about his health.''

''_Damn right, I don't,''_ the hunter added in his head while he put away the dirtied handkerchief in one of his coat's pocket.

''Kaname, I was looking all over the school for you! I'm so glad I found you before Sara-sama did.'' Takuma's voice sounded very relieved, no doubt had the stress eaten at him when he'd first spotted the pureblood's presence.

''I'm glad that you ran into them first.'' Kaname looked pointedly at Zero's wound and Kaito's torn pants and managed a slight smile. ''I don't think I would have managed such a skilled fall.''

Takuma stifled a chuckle. Zero send them both death glares and Kaito tried to salvage his dignity by shrugging it off and ignoring the amused pair.

''I didn't have the occasion to say it, but I'm glad you could attend my wedding,'' he continued, quietly smiling, '' I was surprised that Sara had let you come.''

Takuma was smiling but it didn't reach his eyes. ''Yeah, a very beautiful wedding, Kaname, I'm glad for you both. I'm sorry to say that I can't stand by your side as a friend anymore because of _a very spoiled princess_,'' he sighed, ''but now you finally have your dear Yuuki-chan.''

''Yes, I'm very glad of that and considering that matter, I would like to question Sara about Yuuki, and if I don't like her answers it might turn…disagreeable for her.'' His tone had turned darker. Zero had ignored their harmless talk and had been focusing on his growing headache until he sensed the mood of the conversation switch. He eyed the pureblood whose aura had turned threatening and paid attention to the rest of the conversation.

'' Actually, when I sensed you enter the academy, I ran to find you because I know where is kept Yuuki-chan. Also, if you follow me, I can take you to Sara-sama's quarters. She's hiding there since the beginning of the level E's attack.''

''Yuuki's safety is my priority, but since I agreed to let Kiryuu-kun manage this operation,'' he looked straight into the hunter's amethyst eyes, '' he'll decide what to do. But I might _suggest_ him to chose _wisely_ if he ever wants to see the sun again.'' Zero frowned at the barely covered menace. Unconsciously, his hand had moved nearer to his holster when Kaname's eyes briefly flashed red in warning.

Takuma clapped in his hands to alleviate the atmosphere. ''Now, now, Kaname. I'm sure Kiryuu-kun will see the sun tomorrow, there's nothing to worry about,'' he said with faked enthusiasm and confidence.

Looking at the blond vampire, Kaito questioned the other two. ''Can we even trust him? Because sorry Takuma Ichijo-kun,'' he addressed the vampire, '' but you _are_ Sara's personal assistant.''

Kaname was the one who answered in Takuma's defense. '' I never questioned Takuma's loyalty because I know where it lies. I trust him if he says that he knows where Yuuki is.'' Takuma genuinely smiled at his old friend, grateful for his trust.

''Then it's decided,'' Zero declared to everyone, '' Me and Kaito will follow Ichijo-senpai's directives and secure the target; Kaname Kuran will follow Ichijo-senpai and deal with Sara Shirabuki in an appropriate manner depending on her intentions.''

The pureblood lord nodded in approval with the association president's decision, satisfied that the stubborn hunter had chosen what he himself would have.

''Then I'm sorry to inform you two that you'll have to turn around and go back to the main hall, '' Takuma told the two hunters. '' The only stairs to the basement are in the school's kitchen, near the cafeteria. Go through the door marked '_employees only_' at the back. It will lead you to the hidden basement; Yuuki's room is at the far end of the corridor.''

Irritated for having made all that running for nothing, the two hunters muttered a 'thanks' to Takuma and left quickly the way they came.

The two vampires watched them go silently, until they turned a corner and went out of sight. Takuma waited for the pureblood to pull out of his thoughts. Kaname's shoes clacked on the floor when he turned to face Takuma.

''Well…let's not make Sara wait any longer since she went through all the trouble of setting this up to see me.'' Kaname told the blond vampire who was startled.

''Oh, you realized?'' He then sighed sadly. ''Well, it was no use trying to hide something from you, Kaname. I feel less worried now knowing that Sara-sama didn't manage to fool you.''

'' I think I know enough to make her plans crumble…though I still don't know how she managed it all. If she happens to capture the _king_, I made sure the _queen_ had protection and wouldn't be left on her own.''

Seeing his friend so concerned with his wife, Takuma decided to give him a little warning, even though he was ordered against it.

''The tablets. That's the key for her plans to become queen.''

* * *

They entered a vast room, Victorian-styled furniture and deep pink walls. It was Sara's private tearoom, with comfortable loveseats and a sofa around a low table covered with patisseries and cups. Draperies normally covered the windows but someone had pulled them open to allow the moonlight inside the room already lit by the candlelight.

'' Welcome, Kaname, I was waiting for you.'' Sitting in the sofa, her long wavy hair cascading down her shoulder like a gold river, Sara was sipping a cup of tea. She put the cup down on her plate when she saw the male pureblood enter her room. She was all sweet like honey, a graceful figure clothed in a pure white summer dress with gold threads sewn in the delicate fabric, dropping crystal blue eyes that made her seem gentle and a charming voice.

''I'm sure you know in how much trouble the school is in, I was hoping for your help.'' She joined her hands in a pleading gesture. ''I'm so scared, you know, but I asked my friends to help out the sweet, frail human girls and keep the enemies at bay but I'm afraid they won't hold out long-''

Still standing up in front of Sara, Kaname looked down at her with disdains and stopped her from going on. '' Cut the comedy act, Sara, I'm not playing anymore. I won't forgive you for taking Yuuki away from me.'' His words had the effect of a cold shower on her.

Glaring at Takuma, who had walked to stand to the side of her sofa, she began '' I thought I ordered you not to-'' Her hands gripped the sofa angrily, her nails digging in the cushion.

''He didn't. I just put two and two together.''

Looking back up at Kaname, she calmed down. ''So smart. I was right to choose you to be my king.'' She motioned to the seat in front of her. ''Come on now, take a seat. We have a lot to discuss.'' To Takuma, she added ''Don't interfere. Bring our guest a glass of water, I'm sure he must be thirsty.'' She waved her manicured hand at him in dismissal.

Sending one last glance toward Kaname, feeling useless to stop Sara's plan, Takuma left the room. He couldn't disobey her, even to help his dearest friend.

Kaname walked slowly around the seat and looked outside the window. From where he stood, he couldn't see any of the fighting at the front of the school, but he caught a familiar rapid movement in the nearby trees. The shadow seemed to have leaped from one tree to another and was currently hiding in the darkness. _''She's a very reliable pawn,''_ he thought. Now that he had a witness for what would happen in this room, he turned and sat down in the seat designated by the blond pureblood.

''I wonder if you understand that what you did is unforgivable and to make sure that it won't happen again, I'll have to take your life.''

This amused Sara. ''I think it is you who doesn't understand fully yet that I'm the one putting you in check.'' He arched an eyebrow, waiting for her to explain.

''Well, firstly, you had probably guessed that Yuuki is my hostage. I left one of my guard dog with her and if she doesn't hear from me soon, I'm afraid something terrible will happen to your wife. ''

''I'm sure the hunters will be able to take care of your _guard dog_ before it bites her.'' Kaname said, unfazed.

Sara frowned. ''I think you underestimate the strength of my pawn.''

'' I think _you _underestimate the strength of my _knight_,'' he replied.

Annoyed with Kaname's insistence that he was the one with the upper hand, she materialized an avatar on her shoulder.

She let the black spider ran along her arm and it rested in her palm, its beady eyes shining like red droplets. '' Well, if I send this little friend to my vampire friends in the auditorium, maybe they'll just stop keeping the level E's at bay and the human girls will die.''

Kaname shook his head. '' …if that's the price for Yuuki's life, I won't hesitate to sacrifice them.''

Sara's smile widened and she made the spider go back in her body. ''I knew you'd say that. Purebloods are natural rulers, they don't hesitate to sacrifice the life of their pawns, unlike your little sister,'' she bended over the table, her gold locks swiping forward, like she wanted to confide something to Kaname, and whispered ''She isn't fit for the real you. She's not a true pureblood queen.'' Kaname didn't react to it, his burgundy eyes still as icy as ever.

She straightened up and continued '' Additionally, I also have an hostage that I'm sure your sister would be very sad to hear was sacrificed because of your decision.''

The door opened and a girl with short, slightly curly brown hair entered, holding a knife to her own throat. Her soft brown eyes were glazed over and she made a few step inside the room before stopping behind Kaname's seat.

_I didn't foresee that. That's much more troublesome._

Sara stood up and went to greet the girl. ''Hello, Sayori-chan. Glad that you could make it.'' Yori had no reaction whatsoever when the pureblood snaked her arms around her free arm. ''Oh, that's right, you cannot answer me.''

Turning to Kaname, who was frowning upon the unexpected turn of events, she made the presentations. ''This, here, is a human friend of Yuuki-chan. I encountered her at a vampire soiree a year ago and she had seemed to me like a _very precious friend_ of your sister.''

A dark swirl appeared behind the girls. A tiny pureblood materialized and lifted his haut-de-forme hat in a salute gesture. ''And this is lord Touma, my partner. He's the one controlling this young lady. I doubt that even you can take on two purebloods with such a precious hostage so you'll have to cooperate. It's a trade; you give up control over your body and we'll let the human girls go safely, along with Sayori-chan and Yuuki-chan,'' she finished; satisfied that everything was turning like she had planned. Kaname was finally within her grasp! ''Oh, and you don't have any choice but to do as I say or the hostages die.''

''Hehehe, my mind control can be quite useful. It can apply to humans, hunters and vampires, even if I didn't bite them.'' He then pouted childishly. ''Of course, I cannot control purebloods but Sara will offer me the possibility to try on you. I'd loooove to make you do all these things that you hate like, say, harming your friends.''

Kaname's jaw tightened at the thought of leaving his body at the mercy of the sadistic, nasty little vampire. His eyes shone with anger even though he had known it would turn out that way. He would have to bear with it for the meanwhile, until his dear Yuuki toughened up and acquired the strength to fight those two.

Right then, Takuma opened the door and his blood turned to ice when he saw the child-like pureblood and the girl in Day Class uniform.

''Sara-sama, I never knew you'd take Yuuki-chan's human friend hostage.'' Takuma was outraged and he let her know, for the first time, that she was crossing the line. ''And what is Touma-sama doing here?''

''You would have betrayed me so I never told you my real plan.'' She dismissed Takuma's rage with a wave of her hand. '' Just give that glass to Kaname already. Stop stalling.''

Looking at Kaname in the eyes, Takuma's soft green eyes where glowing with shame and frustration for his own powerlessness. ''Sorry, I didn't know it would go this far.'' Saddened, he passed on the glass of water to his friend. ''I had hoped I could somehow prevent it.''

Takuma could read in Kaname's wine red eyes that he didn't hold it against him but at the moment it didn't make him feel better, maybe even worse. He then stepped aside and stood in a corner.

Sara pulled out two white, elongated pills from the sugar pot on the coffee table. She handed them to Kaname, who took them between his fingers and inspected them carefully.

'' Bl-LXIIs7,''he read on both of them.

''You see, the blood tablets that your Night Class created are a very good invention, but lacked popularity because of its awful taste. So, I kindly asked pharmaceutical companies to work on ameliorating them.'' She pulled out a sheet of paper listing the various components used for making the pills.

''You know what is used to make them. You synthesize human blood taken from various lowly individuals and the flavor is copied any number of time. But it's all very bland, so I authorized them to synthesize my blood. It makes any vampire taking those new ameliorated tablets obey me like I was their master and creates a dependancy. It should also bind your mind enough to allow lord Touma's mind control to take effect, even on a pureblood.''

''And with that, you'll create yourself an army of vampires who'll never betray you and work toward creating your own empire of the night,'' Kaname completed.

Sara laughed again. ''Again, you are wrong. Not only will I be queen of the vampires, but I'll be the one and only queen. Humans will also obey me, and that's why I'll need a king like you.''

She extended her index toward the glass. ''Now take them, I don't have any time to waste. Lord Touma, please be ready to take control of him when he takes the tablets.''

''And if I take them, how can I be sure that you'll free **all** of your hostages?'' he questioned her.

''Takuma, take that girl back to her school. Touma will release her from the mind control once you drink the synthetic blood'' He did it immediately, hurrying to get Yori back to safety, which meant as far away from Sara and Touma as possible. ''As for the other students, you need not to worry, I'll eventually turn them into my servants so they won't be killed for no reason.''

''And Yuuki?''

Sara looked bored and sighed in contempt. ''I don't need her anymore. I'm sure that hunter with silver hair- that's the knight you were talking about, right?- will do his job just fine.''

Kaname had no other choice but to drop the tablets in the glass, watching them dissolve and turn the water into a darker red than normal tablets. He was doing it for Yuuki; he couldn't allow her to be hurt by the loss of her only remaining human friend.

It was all a game of chess between him and Sara. But unlike a real game, the match continued even if the king was down. Or temporarily incapacitated, like he would be. This game ended only when one of the queens was down and Kaname would make sure it would be the white queen.

His lips touched the cold glass and his eyes looked down at the dreadful liquid that he was going to absorb.

Touma moved in front of him, ready for the eye contact that would allow him to control the body of a pureblood. He was barely containing his excitement at the idea of getting a new, powerful toy. Kaname forced down the chemical blood down his throat, totally disgusted at the idea of giving over his mind to someone else, especially to one as twisted as Touma.

Sara hadn't been lying when she said that her tablets tasted better. They were better, in an addicting and poisonous way, like a drug. Immediately, he sensed Sara's blood take effect, clouding his mind with patches of darkness. He would have been able to fight the drug off if only Touma's eyes didn't shine like two jewels, mystifying him with his mind control.

_Well, take good care of Yuuki in my stead for a while, Zero Kiryuu, because her next enemy…_

The glass slipped from his grasp and shattered on the floor, spilling its scarlet content.

_...will be me._

_/_

_/_

_/_

* * *

Author's note: Well, that's it for now. I know, sorry if I made it look like Yuuki was rescued in this part, you'll have to wait for part 3, which will be out...I don't know when. I had a lot of explaining to do. Complicated explaining. More complicated explaining in the next chapter. Ugh. I don't wanna. You'll have to understand that at first, it was supposed to be a one-shot about Yuuki's wedding. But now, that whole wedding thing complicates the rest of the story because it's not really related to the plot. So please bear with the ooc-ness of the situation in the next chapter.

**Review** if you have time, I totally need motivation to write the next chapter. I want to write it as much as I want to take grape-flavored cough syrup. (Last time I did, I was 7 and I puked on the floor) Oh, and that would probably help if **YOU** told me what is it that you think will happen in next chapter. Maybe it'll give me the idea I need to solve this whole $&$?***! problem.

To Sapphiet: Thanks for reviewing and yeah, Zero's too trigger happy xD But I find that badass anyway. As for Eliza, she has better things to do than going in that hell hole full of vampire, too much trouble going over and treating people. She'll wait till they are only a few feet away from her den in the HA.


End file.
